The    Puritan 


as  a 


Colonist   and   Reformer 


By  the  Same  Author 

THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  NEW  ENGLAND 
i  vol.    8vo.    Cloth.    #2.00 

THE  CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  AND  FOREVER 
i  vol.    izrno.    Cloth.    #1.0 


THE  PURITAN 


AS  A 


COLONIST   AND    REFORMER 


BY 


EZRA   HOYT   BYINGTON 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  PURITAN  IN  ENGLAND  AND  NEW  ENGLAND" 
AND  "THE  CHRIST  OF  YESTERDAY,  TO-DAY,  * 
AND  FOREVER" 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND   COMPANY 
.    1899 


Copyright,  1899, 
BY  EZRA  HOYT  BYINGTON 

A II  rights  reserved 


SJntoersttg  \3ress 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


TO    MY    SISTER 

iEIUn, 

WHOSE    THOUGHTFUL    AND    EARNEST    LIFE 

AS  TEACHER,  WIFE,  AND  MOTHER 

ILLUSTRATES  THE   STRENGTH  AND  BEAUTY  OF    THE    PURITAN 
DISCIPLINE    OF    OUR    EARLY    HOME, 

I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK. 


226450 


Preface 


THIS  book  is  a  companion  volume  to  "The 
Puritan  in  England  and  New  England," 
which  was  published  three  years  ago.  The  favor- 
able reception  of  the  earlier  volume  has  encour- 
aged the  author  to  present  a  fuller  and  more 
connected  account  of  the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans 
as  Colonists,  and  as  Missionaries  and  Reformers 
in  New  England.  The  other  book  contains  an 
account  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  Puritanism 
in  England,  and  of  the  religious  opinions,  the 
family  and  social  life,  and  the  personal  traits  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  in  this  country.  The 
two  volumes  are  quite  distinct,  and  yet  each 
supplements  the  other. 

We  shall  do  well  to  observe  the  increasing 
interest  in  the  Puritans  in  our  time.  This  in- 
terest has  been  recently  illustrated  in  the  cele- 
bration of  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
birth  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  who  was  in  some  re- 
spects the  most  notable  representative  of  the 
Puritan  party.  It  would  not  have  been  possible, 
a  generation  ago,  to  unite  the  English-speaking 
people  of  England  and  America  and  Australia  in 


Vlll  PREFACE 


paying  honor  to  his  name,  and  to  the  principle  ; 
which  he  defended.  The  number  of  Englishmen 
who  have  been  remembered  so  long  is  very  small. 
The  fact  is,  there  is  a  higher  appreciation  of  the 
Puritan  spirit,  and  of  the  results  of  Puritanism, 
than  ever  before.  The  political  and  social  reforms 
which  they  secured  are  quite  as  noteworthy  as 
the  religious  reforms.  The  world  appreciates 
them  now,  because  the  spirit  of  this  age  is  so 
free  and  progressive.  We  have  been  moving  for- 
ward to  the  position  which  they  occupied,  and 
beyond  it. 

It  is  true,  the  Puritans  were  not  in  all  respects 
consistent  with  their  own  principles.  They  were 
not  as  tolerant  as  they  should  have  been.  Yet 
they  were  the  leaders,  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
in  securing  freedom  for  the  people,  in  the  Church 
and  in  the  State.  We  owe  much  of  the  pro- 
gressive spirit  of  our  time  to  their  foresight,  and 
to  their  strenuous  endeavors. 

It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  Puritans  could 
have  secured  the  triumph  of  their  principles  if 
they  had  not  planted  colonies  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  The  conservative  spirit  in  England 
was  very  strong  in  their  time,  as  it  was  in  France 
and  Spain.  Hampden,  and  Eliot,  and  Pym,  and 
Coke,  and  the  other  champions  of  freedom  against 
the  arbitrary  claims  of  the  Stuarts,  were  not  cer- 
tain of  final  victory.  The  Restoration  of  Charles 


PREFA CE  IX 

the  Second  came  too  soon,  and  it  seemed  to  have 
blotted  out  from  the  English  Constitution  the 
new  sections  which  had  been  written  into  it  by 
Cromwell  and  the  Long  Parliament.  There  was 
a  time  when  the  Church  of  England  itself  seemed 
to  be  going  back  from  the  principles  of  the  Refor- 
mation. Charles  seems  to  have  imagined  that 
he  could  even  extinguish  the  light  that  had  been 
kindled  in  New  England.  But  the  sea  was  too 
broad.  The  new  ideas  of  the  right  of  the  people 
to  make  their  own  laws,  and  to  elect  their  own 
rulers,  and  to  worship  according  to  their  own  con- 
sciences, had  a  fair  field  in  the  New  World. 

The  time  came  when  the  influence  of  America 
began  to  be  felt  in  the  Mother  Country.  One 
reform  bill  has  succeeded  another  in  the  English 
Parliament,  until  the  people  have  gained  the 
rights  for  which  the  Puritans  struggled.  The 
Free  Churches  have  been  multiplied  in  the  Home 
Land.  The  Established  Church  has  gained  quite 
as  much  as  the  churches  of  the  Dissenters.  So 
that  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  Anglo-Saxon 
people  in  all  parts  of  the  world  now  stand  for  the 
principles  of  the  Puritans.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
the  political  tracts  of  John  Milton  are  appreciated 
as  never  before.  Shakespeare  has  a  much  higher 
place  than  he  had  before  the  Revolution  of  1688, 
yet  we  miss  in  his  dramas  the  democratic  spirit 
which  we  find  in  Spenser  and  in  Milton.  We 


' 


PREP A CE 


are  reading  English  literature  in  the  new  light 
that  is  shining  all  about  us. 

It  is  a  good  time  to  make  a  fresh  study  of  the 
Puritans.  We  have  still  much  to  learn  from 
them  in  respect  to  the  social  and  political  and 
religious  questions  of  our  time.  In  many  ways 
we  are  following  their  example.  The  Consti- 
tution of  the  Republic  is  only  a  development  of 
the  teachings  of  Thomas  Hooker  in  Connecticut. 
Our  Home  and  Foreign  missions  are  the  expan- 
sion of  the  missions  of  Eliot  and  the  Mayhews. 
Our  schools  and  colleges  for  the  people  follow 
Puritan  examples.  Tennyson  has  told  us  that 

"  thro*  the  ages  one  increasing  purpose  runs, 
And  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widen'd  with  the 
process  of  the  suns." 

Much  of  what  has  been  the  best  in  the  nineteenth 
century  has  come  from  our  New  England  ances- 
tors, and  the  twentieth  century  is  likely  to  follow 
the  same  line  of  development. 


EZRA  HOYT  BYINGTON. 


FRANKLIN  STREET,  NEWTON,  MASS. 
September  I,  1899. 


.-' 


xiii 


Contents 


PAGE 


LIST  OF  AUTHORITIES  REFERRED  TO xxiii-xxvi 


THE   PILGRIM   AS   A   COLONIST. 

North  America  known  to  Europeans  a  century  before 
New  England  was  settled.  Fisheries.  Early  Colo- 
nies   1-3 

I.  The  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century  led  to  emi- 
gration to  New  England.  Pilgrims  driven  from 
England.  In  Holland.  Reasons  for  going  to  Amer- 
ica ;  a  refuge,  and  a  mission  to  the  Indians.  Their 
poverty.  Agreement  with  the  Company  in  England. 
Reasons  why  they  succeeded.  Voyage  of  the  May- 
flower. The  compact  in  the  Mayflower.  Election 
of  Governor.  Party  of  exploration.  Plymouth 
Rock.  Building  the  common  house.  Severity  of 
the  winter.  Large  number  of  deaths.  The  Indians. 

Re-election  of  Governor  Carver 4-18 

II.  The  first  spring  at  Plymouth.  Planting.  The  first 
marriage.  Exploring  parties  sent  out.  Trade  in 
Boston  Bay.  The  first  harvest.  Thanksgiving. 
Arrival  of  reinforcements 19-27 

III.  The    second    winter.       Danger    from    the    Indians. 

Preparations  for  defence.     The    first     Christmas. 
Sports  forbidden 27-29 

IV.  The  Pilgrim  Republic.     Treatment  of  the  Indians. 

Visit  to  Massasoit.     Trouble  with  the  Indians    .     29-33 
V.    Scarcity  of  food.   Building  the  fort.    Allotment  of  land 

to  the  families.     Arrival  of  ships  from  England.      33-38 


CONTENTS. 


f/VliE. 

«•'   VI.    The  year  1624.      Prosperity.      A  more  generous  di- 
tJ  vision  of  land.     Plentiful  harvests.     Visit  from  the 

Dutch  secretary.  The  end  of  seven  years.  Settle- 
ment of  the  debts  of  the  Colony.  The  Undertakers. 
A  new  allotment  of  land  to  the  Colonists.  End  of 

communism.     The  debts  paid 38-42 

Democratic  spirit  in  Plymouth.  Simple  manner  of 
life.  Dwellings.  Furniture.  Schools.  Dress. 
Death  of  John  Robinson.  The  Pilgrim  Church. 
Ministers.  Service  of  song.  Dr.  Samuel  Fuller.  42-48 
VIII.  Extension  of  the  Colony.  Duxbury.  Domestic  ani- 
mals. Laws  of  the  Colony.  Legislature.  Witch- 
craft    49-52 

IX.  Small  number  of  the  Forefathers.  Settlers  from  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay.  The  New  England  Confederation.  52-54 
X.  Conclusion.  Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims.  Fortitude. 
Gentleness.  Good  fellowship  with  Massachusetts. 
Governor  Bradford's  History  of  the  Colony.  Old 
Colony  and  Massachusetts  united 55~59 


II 


THE   PURITAN   AS   A  COLONIST. 

The  Pilgrim  prepared  the  way  for  the  Puritan  in  New 
England.  The  influence  of  Puritans  in  England. 
The  advanced  Protestants  of  their  time.  King 
James  and  the  Puritans.  Charles  the  First.  The 
crisis.  The  Church  of  England.  Bishop  Laud. 

Outlook  for  freedom 63-68 

I.  John  White  of  Dorchester.  Dorchester  adventurers. 
Settlement  of  Salem.  New  charter.  The  first  ex- 
pedition. Salem.  State  of  the  Colony  .  .  .  68-76 
II.  Higginson.  Endicott.  Plans  for  a  Reformed  Church. 
The  Church  in  Salem.  Not  a  Separatist  Church. 
Influence  of  Plymouth.  The  Browns  sent  back  to 
England 76-85 


CONTENTS.  xii'l 


III.  The  Charter  transferred  to  New  England.  Conference 
at  Cambridge.  Winthrop  chosen  Governor.  A 
great  company  of  Colonists.  Their  characteristics. 
Their  arrival  in  Massachusetts.  Condition  of  the 
Colony.  Settlements  at  Charlestown,  Boston,  Water- 
town,  Roxbury.  The  first  buildings.  Sufferings 
from  the  cold.  Mortality.  Scarcity  of  food.  Pro- 
visions received  from  England 85-93 

J^7.  The  early  Churches.  Support  of  ministers  by  the 
Colony.  Salaries.  Dorchester  Church  organized 
before  the  voyage.  The  covenant.  Views  of  the 
Non-Conformists.  Churches  in  Charlestown  and 
Watertown.  Removal  of  Mr.  Wilson  to  Boston. 
/  Essential  things  in  a  Puritan  Church  ....  93-98 

W.  Variety  among  the  pioneers.  University  men,  phy- 
sicians, lawyers,  ministers,  merchants,  farmers,  and 
servants.  Ownership  of  land.  No  hereditary 
privileges.  The  Colonial  government  gradually 
leavened  with  democratic  principles.  Session  of 
General  Court  in  1630.  Applicants  for  admission 
as  freemen.  The  Court  lessens  the  power  of  free 
men,  and  makes  the  office  of  Assistant  permanent. 
This  an  assumption  of  power.  In  1632  the  General 
Court  admits  freemen,  and  concedes  rights  under 
the  Charter.  Question  as  to  taxes.  Deputies  chosen 
by  the  people 99~I05 

VI.  Dealings  with  the  Indians.  White  men  punished  for 
injustice  to  Indians.  The  lands  purchased.  Care 
of  the  sick.  Winthrop 's  courtesy  to  the  chiefs.  105-108 
VII.  Settlement  of  Newtown.  John  Eliot.  The  capital 
fixed  at  Boston.  Large  immigration  in  1633.  John 
Cotton  and  Thomas  Hooker.  The  Commons 
examine  the  Charter.  Claim  their  rights  in  the 
assessment  of  taxes.  Governor  Winthrop  fails  of 

a  re-election 108-111 

VIII.  The  towns  and  plantations.  Town  meetings.  The 
germ  of  a  republic.  Jefferson  quoted.  The  town 
system.  Voters.  Powers  of  the  town.  The  public 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

schools.  Schools  in  Boston  and  Roxbury.  General 
law  for  schools.  Boys  and  girls.  Harvard  College  : 
location,  endowment,  and  name.  The  ministers 
called  by  the  towns.  The  early  voluntary  system. 
Union  of  Church  and  State.  Taxes  for  support  of 
ministers  and  for  building  meeting-houses.  Effects 

of  this  system iil-n8 

IX.  Growth  of  the  Colony.  Number  of  freemen.  Trial 
by  jury.  Taxes.  Opposition  in  England.  Arch- 
bishop Laud.  Demand  for  the  Charter.  Reports 
of  the  sending  of  a  Royal  Governor.  Preparations 
to  resist.  Fortifications.  Arming  and  drilling  the 
militia.  Military  commission.  Friends  of  the 
Colony  in  England.  Weakness  of  the  King  .  119-124 
X.  Development  of  the  Colonies.  Roger  Williams. 
Preacher  in  Salem  and  in  Plymouth.  Returns  to 
Salem.  Summoned  before  the  Court.  Banished. 
His  banishment  one  of  the  mistakes  of  the  Puri- 
tans. Settles  at  Providence.  Colony  of  Rhode 

Island 125-130 

v  XI.  The  Colony  of  Connecticut.  Application  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Newtown.  Reasons  for  the  request.  Demo- 
cratic ideas  of  Hooker.  Permission  to  remove. 
Journey  through  the  wilderness.  Windsor.  Hart- 
ford. Wethersfield.  Springfield.  Written  Con- 
stitution of  Connecticut.  General  Court.  Laws  of 
the  Word  of  God.  Settlement  at  Quinnipiack. 
Eaton.  Davenport.  Milford  and  Guilford.  Gen- 
eral Court  of  the  Colony.  1634.  Mrs.  Anne 
Hutchinson  described  by  Winthrop.  Meetings  for 
women.  Inner  light.  Inspiration.  Prophecy.  The 
German  mystics.  Her  opposition  to  the  pastors. 
Covenant  of  works.  Covenant  of  grace.  Denun- 
ciation of  the  ministers.  The.  Synod ;  its  mod- 
erator; its  decisions.  Action  of  the  General  Court. 
Trial  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson.  Her  banishment. 
Settles  in  Rhode  Island.  Settlements  in  New 
Hampshire 130-140 


. 


CONTENTS.  XV 


XII.  The  Pequot  War.  Indians  in  Massachusetts  peace- 
ful. Fewness  of  Indians.  Settlements  in  Connecti- 
cut. Murder  of  John  Oldham.  Expedition  of 
Endicott.  Murder  of  settlers  in  Connecticut. 
Attack  upon  Wethersfield.  Captain  Mason's  cam- 
paign. Attack  upon  the  Indian  fort.  Defeat  of 
the  Indians.  Lessons  of  the  War  ....  141-144 

XIII.  The  Long  Parliament.     End  of  the  emigration  from 

England.  Numbers  who  had  come  over.  Cost  of 
transporting  them.  Pure  blood  of  the  Colonists. 
The  Confederation  of  four  Colonies.  Reasons  for 
union.  Purpose  of  it.  Its  influence.  Government 
of  the  Colonies.  The  suffrage.  Taxes.  Courts. 
Codes  of  laws.  Churches.  Officers.  Public  wor- 
ship. Dwellings  of  the  people.  Improvements. 
Food.  Dress.  Economy.  The  ministers'  influence. 
Dr.  Northend's  estimate  of  their  logic  .  .  .  144-153; 

XIV.  First  meeting  of  the  Commissioners.     Their  action. 

New  towns.  The  Indian  question.  Narragansetts 
and  Mohegans.  Miantonomo.  Military  prepara- 
tions. Dealings  with  the  Dutch,  Swedes,  and 
French.  Second  meeting  of  the  Commissioners. 
Maintenance  of  the  clergy.  Contributions  to 
Harvard  College.  Census.  Road  to  the  Con- 
necticut    153-156 

XV.  Cambridge  Synod.  Practical  topics  before  it.  Cotton 
and  Hooker.  Need  of  a  standard  of  Church  polity. 
Members  of  the  Synod.  Time  of  its  meetings. 
Westminster  Confession.  The  Cambridge  Platform. 
Statements  of  polity.  Councils.  Church  and  State. 
Missions  to  the  Indians.  Roger  Williams.  May- 
hew.  John  Eliot  preaches  and  translates  the  Bible. 
Towns  of  praying  Indians.  Churches.  Contributions 
from  England.  Claims  of  the  English  government, 
and  of  the  Colonies.  Boston  Harbor.  Settlement 
of  Maine.  Governed  by  Massachusetts.  Proposals 
of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Rejected  by  the  Colonists. 
Commissioners  for  the  Colonies.  Pine  tree  shillings. 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


Restoration  of  Charles  II.  Proclaimed  in  the 
Colonies.  Royal  Charter  for  Connecticut.  Union 
with  New  Haven.  Charter  of  Rhode  Island  156-168 

The  Quakers  in  England.  Origin  of  the  sect.  Their 
missionaries.  First  Quakers  in  Massachusetts. 
Their  reception.  Action  of  the  Colonies  against 
them.  Penalty  of  death.  Enacted  by  a  majority 
of  one.  Opposition  to  it.  Execution  of  four 
Quakers  in  Boston.  Public  sentiment  against  the 
persecution.  Absurd  acts  of  the  Quakers.  Roger 
Williams  on  persecution.  The  Baptists  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. Laws  against  them.  A  Baptist 
Church  in  Boston.  Belief  in  witchcraft.  Sir 
Matthew  Hale.  Early  prosecutions  for  witchcraft. 
Prosecutions  at  Salem.  Numbers  put  to  death. 
End  of  the  excitement 168-178 

King  Philip's  War.  Improvement  of  the  Indians. 
Their  trade.  Fire  arms.  Conspiracy.  Losses  of 
the  Colonists.  Gifts  from  Ireland  ....  179-181 

Visit  of  the  Royal  Commissioners.  Their  demands. 
Regicide  judges.  Plans  of  the  Commissioners. 
Ships  and  soldiers.  Capture  of  New  Amsterdam. 
Visit  to  Plymouth,  Rhode  Island,  and  Connecticut. 
Visit  to  Boston.  Attempts  to  try  appeals  from 
the  Courts  of  the  Colony.  Recall  of  the  Commis- 
sioners. The  Confederation.  Repair  of  the  forti- 
fications. Claims  of  the  Colonies.  Claims  of  the 
King.  Writ  of  quo  ivarranto.  Refusal  to  give 
up  the  Charter.  It  is  declared  void.  Death  of 
Charles  II.  Reign  of  James  II.  The  Charters 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  Governor 
Andros.  Rebellion  in  Boston.  William  and 
Mary.  The  Provincial  Charter 181-191 

Condition  of  New  England  in  1692.  Population. 
Towns.  The  people.  Education.  Spirit  of  the 
people.  "  The  Wonder-Working  Providence." 
The  Puritan  ministers.  Their  learning.  General 
laws  of  the  Colonies.  Revenues  ....  191-196 


XVII. 


XVIII. 


XIX. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

XX.  Expansion  of  the  Puritan  Colonies  in  two  centu- 
ries. Growth  of  settlements  in  Connecticut.  In 
Rhode  Island.  In  Massachusetts.  Settlement  of 
New  Hampshire.  Of  Maine.  Of  Vermont. 
Puritan  exodus  to  the  West.  Wyoming  Valley. 
New  York.  Ohio.  Michigan.  The  Northwest. 
The  Pacific  Coast.  Colleges.  Greater  New 
England 196-201 


\ 

JOHN   ELIOT,  THE   APOSTLE  TO  THE   INDIANS. 

The  missionary  spirit  of  the  Pilgrims.     The  Puritans. 

The  Charter  of  the  Colony 205-206 

I.  Early  missionary  efforts.  Kindness  to  their  Indian 
neighbors.  Action  of  the  General  Court.  Mis- 
sions of  the  Mayhews 207-209 

II.   John  Eliot.  Birthplace.  Family.  His  father.  Church 
of  St.  John  Baptist.     Youth  of  Eliot.     Enters  the 

University.     Rank  as  a  scholar 209-212 

III.    Usher  under  Hooker.     His  friends  going  to  New 

England.     Decides  to  go  with  them     .     .     .     212-213 
IV.   Sails  for  Boston.     Settles  in  Roxbury.     Marriage. 
Ministry  in   Roxbury.      His   first  volume.      His 

characteristics 214-218 

V.   Learns  the  Indian  language.      His  teachers.     No 

Protestant  Missions 218-221 

VI.    Preaches  to  the  Indians.  Nonantum.  His  method.    222-224 
VII.   His  first  preaching.  The  ten  Commandments.  Ques- 
tions  by  the    Indians.      The   second  preaching. 

Catechism 224-228 

VIII.  Success  of  his  efforts.  Seconded  by  Governor  Win- 
throp  and  other  leaders  of  the  Colony.  Permanent 
results.  Indian  town  at  Nonantum.  Industry  of 
the  praying  Indians.  Clothing.  Cambridge  Sy- 
nod. An  Indian  congregation 228-233 


XV111  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

IX.  Need  of  financial  support  for  the  mission.  Appeal 
to  friends  in  England.  Cromwell  seconds  it.  So- 
ciety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New 

England.     Large  contributions 233-237 

X.  Town  of  praying  Indians  at  Natick.  Title  to  the 
lands.  Eliot's  foot-bridge.  The  allotment  of  land. 
Stockade.  The  large  framed  house  .  .  .  237-241 

XI.  The  Indian  community.  Exodus,  eighteenth  chap- 
ter. Covenant.  Religious  services  at  Natick. 
Laws  of  Massachusetts.  Indian  laws.  Other  In- 
dian communities.  Reservations  of  land.  Eliot's 
training  school  for  preachers.  Major  Gookin  the 

Commissioner 241-245 

XII.  Indian  churches.  Caution  of  the  Missionary.  The 
Indian  Catechism.  First  Church  at  Natick.  Other 
Churches 245-248 

XIII.  The  Indian  Bible.     Eliot  had  no  assistants.     Pub- 

lished in  1661.  Expenses  paid  by  the  English 
Society.  Second  edition  of  the  Bible.  A  dead 
language 249-253 

XIV.  Progress  of  Missions  among  the  Indians.     Eliot's 

missionary  tours.      Opposition  of  the  Sachems. 
King  Philip.    Eliot  goes  to  Nashaway.    Quaboag. 
Narrative  by  Major  Gookin  of  missionary  tours.    253-258 
XV.  Extension  of  the  work  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  on 
the  Islands.    Number  of  Missionaries.    Visit  from 

a  Jesuit  Missionary  to  Mr.  Eliot 258-261 

XVI.  King  Philip's  War.  A  revolt  of  paganism.  Dis- 
trust of  the  praying  Indians.  Removed  to  Deer 
Island.  Sufferings  of  the  Indians.  Release  at 
the  end  of  the  war.  Their  poverty  and  discourage- 
ment    261-265 

XVII.  The  closing  years.  Decline  of  the  Indian  Churches. 
Decay  of  the  Indian  race.  Efforts  of  Mr. 
Eliot  to  check  the  decline.  Old  age  of  Mr.  Eliot. 
His  death.  List  of  his  works.  His  burial 
place 266-270 


CONTENTS.  XIX 


IV 


JONATHAN    EDWARDS,  AND    THE    GREAT 
AWAKENING 

PAGE 

Meaning  of  the  Great  Awakening 273 

I.  Decay  of  the  Puritan  Churches.  The  Reforming 
Synod.  Evidences  of  religious  declension.  Causes. 
Mistakes  of  the  Puritans.  Union  of  Church  and 
State.  Half  Way  Covenant.  An  extreme  theology. 
Efforts  to  check  the  decline  of  the  Churches.  Re- 
ligious declension  in  England 274-282 

II.  The  life  of  Jonathan  Edwards.  Education  at  Yale 
College.  Ordination  at  Northampton.  Preaching. 
His  delicate  sensibilities.  Poetic  temperament. 
Religious  experiences.  Personal  appearance  and 
manner  of  preaching 283-288 

III.  Arminianism  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Methods  of 
preaching.  Influence  of  Mr.  Stoddard.  Edwards's 
preaching  on  Justification  by  Faith.  Beginning  of 
the  revival,  1734.  New  sense  of  personal  responsi- 
bility. Extension  of  the  revival  in  the  Valley  of 
the  Connecticut.  Edwards  as  an  evangelist.  Re- 
vivals of  1740,  1741,  1745.  Pastors  as  evangelists. 
The  sermon  at  Enfield.  Condition  of  that  parish. 
The  sermon  adapted  to  the  special  case.  Themes 
of  Edwards's  sermons 288-298 

IV.  The  Methodist  revival  in  England.  Preaching  of 
Whitefield.  His  visit  to  New  England.  Preaches 
in  Boston  and  in  Northampton.  A  new  impulse  to 

the  Great  Awakening 298-300 

V.  Extent  of  the  religious  work  in  New  England.  In- 
fluence upon  methods  of  preaching,  and  upon  eccle- 
siastical methods.  Upon  the  religious  life  of  this 
country.  The  Methodists  in  the  United  States. 
Missionary  agencies  of  the  nineteenth  century.  301-305 


XX  CONTENTS. 


SHAKESPEARE   AND   THE   PURITANS 

PAGE 

Intelligence  of  the  fathers  of  New  England.     Their 
libraries.    Harvard  College.    The  great  middle  class 

in  England 309-310 

I.  The  Elizabethan  age  of  English  literature.  Spenser. 
The  Faery  Queen.  Protestant.  Sidney.  Milton. 
Bacon.  Shakespeare.  His  life  in  the  great  age  of 

Puritanism 311-315 

II.  Birth  of  Shakespeare.  His  parents.  Free  school  at 
Stratford.  Marriage.  Goes  to  London.  Connec- 
tion with  the  theatre.  An  actor.  Writer  of  plays. 
The  Lord  Chamberlain's  Company.  Buys  the  New 
Place  at  Stratford 315-320 

III.  His  relation  to  the  Puritans.  His  life  among  them. 
Stratford  a  stronghold  of  Puritanism.  His  eldest 
daughter  a  Puritan.  The  Puritans  a  majority  of 
Englishmen.  Shakespeare's  knowledge  of  the  Puri- 
tans. His  universality.  Does  not  revile  the  Puri- 
tans, but  ignores  them 321-326 

IV.  His  lack  of  sympathy  with  the  common  people.  With 
their  struggles  against  oppression.  His  injustice 
to  Jack  Cade  in  Henry  VI.  No  reference  to  Magna 
Charta  in  King  John.  His  associations  with  the 
nobility.  Contrast  with  Milton  and  Spenser  as 
respects  political  principles.  The  Puritans  did  not 
patronize  the  stage.  The  English  Reformation  in 

the  play  of  Henry  VII 1 326-333 

V.  Limitations  of  Shakespeare.  His  estimate  of  his 
poems.  Neglect  of  his  dramatic  works.  Has  left 
no  trace  upon  the  political  life  of  his  time.  His 
sensibility  to  the  best  in  nature  and  art  ...  333-337 

VI.  Lack  of  moral  purpose  in  his  plays.  His  opinion  of 
the  proper  function  of  the  drama.  Moral  purpose 


CONTENTS.  XXI 


of  the  highest  art.      Purity  of  his  own  moral  na- 

ture 337-340 

VII.  The  question  as  to  a  religious  element  in  Shake- 
speare. A  Romanist  or  a  Protestant  ?  References 
to  the  Church.  To  clergymen.  To  music.  To  the 
Bible.  Not  an  Agnostic.  References  to  God  and 
Providence.  To  the  Crusades.  To  prayer.  To  a 
future  life.  To  suicide.  His  lack  of  faith  in  the 
spiritual.  His  early  hopefulness.  Gloom  of  his 
later  years.  His  Sonnets.  Companions  of  his  life 
in  London.  Why  he  was  unable  to  enter  into  the 
Puritan  spirit  and  life 340-354 


INDEX 355 


List  of  Authorities  Referred  To 

[See  "The  Puritan  in  England  and  New-England"  xxv-xxix.] 

Among  My  Books.     James  Russell  Lowell. 

Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Centenary  Edition.    6  vols. 
Bibliotheca  Sacra.     1855.     1897. 

Bradford's  (Governor)  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation.     Legisla- 
tive Edition. 

Brigham's  Compact,  with  the  Charter. 
Bryce's  American  Commonwealths. 
Burke's  Works.    Vol.  II. 

Cambridge  Platform  of  Church  Discipline. 

Campbell's  Lives  of  the  Chief  Justices. 

Campbell's  Puritan  in  Holland,  England,  and  America.     2  vols. 

Centenary  of  American  Methodism.     Stevens. 

Chalmer's  History  of  the  Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies. 

Christian  History,  Boston. 

Clap's  Memoirs. 

Cockenoe.     Elliot's  First  Indian  Teacher.     1896.     Harpers. 

Colonial  Records  of  Connecticut. 

Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts. 

Colonial  Records  of  New  Hampshire. 

Colonial  Records  of  New  Haven. 

Colonial  Records  of  Rhode  Island. 

Congregational  Quarterly.     Vol.  I.-V. 

Congregationalism  as  seen  in  its  Literature.     Dr.  Dexter. 

Contemporary  Review.     January,  1895. 

Craik's  English  of  Shakespeare. 

Creeds   and   Platforms  of    Congregationalism.      Prof.   Williston 

Walker. 
Critical  Study  of  Shakespeare.     George  Brandes.     2  vols. 


XXIV  LIST  OF  A  UTHORITIES  REFERRED   TO. 

Davis  History  of  Plymouth. 

Dowden's  Shakespeare,  —  His  Mind  and  Art. 

Early  Constitutional  History  of  Connecticut.     Dr.  L.  Bacon. 

Election  Sermons  of  Massachusetts.     1666-1714. 

Eliot's  Communion  of  Churches. 

Eliot  Genealogy. 

Eliot's  Indian  Bible. 

Eliot's  Indian  Grammar. 

Eliot's  Life,  by  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams. 

Eliot's  Life  by  C.  Francis.     Spark's  American  Biography. 

Ellis'  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston. 

Elton's  Life  of  Roger  Williams. 

Encyclopedia  Britannica.     Art.  Witchcraft.     Vol.  XXIV. 

Felt's  Ecclesiastical  History  of  New  England. 
Fiske's  Beginnings  of  New  England. 

Goodwin's  Pilgrim  Republic.     1888. 

Green's  History  of  the  English  People  :  4  volumes. 

Green's  Making  of  England. 

Hazard's  Papers. 

Higginson's  New  England  Plantation. 

Historical  Discourses.     Dr.  Bacon. 

History  of  Connecticut.     Alexander  Johnson. 

History  of  Congregationalism.     Professor  Walker. 

History  of  Doctrines.     Professor  Fisher. 

History  of  New  England.     1630-1649.     John  Winthrop.     Edition 

of  1858. 

Hubbard's  History. 
Hume's  History  of  England. 
Hutchinson's  Collections. 

Johnson,  Edward.     Wonder- Working  Providence. 
Journal  of  the  Privy  Council. 

Keys  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.     John  Cotton. 
Life  of  Jonathan  Edwards.     Prof.  A.  V.  G.  Allen. 


LIST  OF  A  UTHORITIES  REFERRED    TO.  XXV 

Macaulay's  History  of  England. 

Ms.   Journal   of    E.   Parkman.       Library   American   Antiquarian 

Society. 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society's  Collections,     ist,  3rd,  and  4th 

Series. 

Mather's  Magnalia.     1702. 

Memorials  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.     W.  Winters. 
Milton's  L'Allegro. 
Morton's  Memorial. 
Mourt's  Relation.     Dr.  Dexter's  Edition.     1865. 

Natick.     Bigelow's  History  of. 

Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans.     4  vols.     1732. 

New  England   Historical  and  Genealogical  Register.      Vol.   14, 

Vol.  48,  1894. 

New  England  Prospect.     Wood. 
Northend's  The  Bay  Colony. 

Palfrey's  History  of  New  England.     5  volumes. 
Parliamentary  History.     Vol.  I. 
Prince's  Annals  of  New  England.     1736. 
Protestant  Missions.     Dr.  A.  C.  Thompson. 
Puritan  in  England  and  New  England. 

Records  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Rhode  Island  Historical  Collections. 

Schlegel's  Dramatic  Literature.     Bohn's  Edition. 

SewalPs  Diary.     1674-1729. 

Shakespeare's  Dramatic  Works.     White's  Edition. 

Shakespeare's  Knowledge  and  Use  of  the  Bible.  Bishop  Words- 
worth. 

Shakespeare's  Life,  Art,  and  Character.     Hudson. 

Shephard's  Sincere  Convert.     1648. 

Some  Aspects  of  the  Religious  Life  in  New  England.  Dr.  George 
L.  Walker. 

The  Great  Awakening.     Joseph  Tracy. 

The  New  World.     December,  1896. 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers.     Rev.  John  Brown.     1895. 


XXVI  LIST  OF  A  UTHORITIES  REFERRED    TO. 

The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam.     Nathaniel  Ward. 

Three  Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History.    Charles  Francis  Adams. 

Trumbull's  History  of  Connecticut. 

Vattel.     Law  of  Nations. 

Way  of  the  Churches  Cleared.     John  Cotton. 

Willard's  Body  of  Divinity. 

Winslow's  Brief  Narration. 

Works  of  Jonathan  Edwards.     Worcester  Edition. 

Young's  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts. 
Young's  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 
GOVERNOR  JOHN  WINTHROP Frontispiece 

From  Sharpe's  Engraving  of  the  Portrait  in  the  Massachusetts  State 
Chamber. 

GOVERNOR  EDWARD  WINSLOW  .     .     .* 121 

From  the  Painting  at  Pilgrim  Hall,  Plymouth. 

JOHN  ELIOT  PREACHING  TO  THE  INDIANS 209 

From  the  Bas-relief,  Congregational  Building. 


I 

The  Pilgrim  as  a  Colonist 


The  Pilgrim  as  a  Colonist 

NORTH  AMERICA  had  been  known  to 
Europeans  more  than  a  hundred  years 
before  the  earliest  permanent  settlements  were 
made  in  New  England.  The  coasts  and  bays 
and  harbors  had  been  explored  by  enterprising 
navigators  of  various  nations,  and  the  narratives 
which  they  had  published  had  awakened  an  in- 
terest in  the  country  among  many  people.  As 
early  as  1575  from  thirty  to  fifty  English  ships 
came  every  year  to  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland 
to  fish.  Fifty  years  before  the  settlement  of 
Plymouth,  attempts  more  or  less  successful  had 
been  made  to  plant  colonies  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  United  States.  The  first  perma- 
nent Colony  in  Virginia  had  been  planted  thirteen 
years  earlier  than  the  first  Colony  in  New  Eng- 
land. Every  year  the  country  was  becoming 
better  known.  In  1607  a  small  Colony  was 
planted  within  the  present  limits  of  Maine,  but 
it  was  soon  abandoned.  Other  attempts  to  es- 
tablish settlements  had  been  made,  having  for 
their  leading  purpose  the  prosecution  of  the  cod 
fisheries,  and  the  extension  of  the  trade  in  furs 
with  the  Indians. 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


I 

THE  earliest  permanent   settlements   in   N£W_ 

England   were   made    by  the    Pilgrims  and   the 

Puritans,  who  had  been  crowded  out 

Earliest  Settle-  . 

or  rLngland  by  religious  persecution. 


These  settlements  were  among  the  re- 
sults of  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  Pilgrims  had  been  driven  from  their  na- 
tive land  in  1608,  by  the  stress  of  persecution. 
They  had  found  a  hospitable  refuge  in  Hol- 
land, where  they  dwelt  in  peace  and  security 
for  twelve  years.  But  they  had  learned  that  it 
was  not  possible  for  them  to  secure  the  results 
which  they  had  most  at  heart  so  long  as  they 
dwelt  in  Holland.  They  could  not  be  content 
with  peace  and  security  for  themselves  alone, 
because  they  believed  they  had  an  important 
mission  to  fulfil  for  the  extension  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  among  their  own  countrymen.  "  A  man 
must  not  respect  only  to  live,"  they  said,  "  and 
doe  good  to  himselfe,  but  he  should  see  where  he 
can  live  to  do  most  good  to  others."  l  In  Hol- 
land they  were  likely  to  lose  their  own  language, 
and  their  connection  with  the  English  people. 
They  were  not  able  to  induce  the  Dutch  people 
to  keep  the  Sabbath  according  to  their  own  con- 
victions of  duty.  They  could  not  give  their 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  Dr.  Dexter's  edition,  146  R.  C. 


REASONS  FOR    THE  EMIGRATION. 


children  such  an  education  as  they  had  received.1 
If  they  should  continue  in  Holland  they  would 
be  likely  to  lose  their  influence  with  the  English 
people,  and  to  become  incorporated  with  the 
people  of  Holland.  They  had  also,  as  Governor 
Bradford  tells  us,  a  great  hope  of  laying  some 
good  foundation  "for  ye  propagating  and  ad- 
vancing ye  gospel  of  ye  kingdom  of  Christ  in 
those  remote  parts  of  the  world." 2  "  Seeing  we 
daily  pray  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathens, 
we  must  consider  whether  there  be  not  some 
ordinary  means  and  course  for  us  to  take  to 
convert  them,  or  whether  praier  for  them  be  only 
referred  to  God's  extraordanaire  work  from 
heaven.  .  .  .  To  us  they  cannot  come,  for  our 
land  is  full ;  to  them  we  may  goe,  their  land  is 
emptie."3 

The  experiences  of  twelve  years  of  "  peace 
and  security "  in  Holland  had  taught  these 
stanch  Englishmen  of  the  Protestant  faith  that 
the  only  way  by  which  they  could  fulfil  the 
mission  which  God  had  given  them  was  to 
establish  colonies  in  the  new  lands  beyond  the 
sea.  They  could  support  themselves  where  they 
were,  but  they  could  not  transmit  to  other  gen- 
erations the  liberty  which  they  had  gained. 

1  Young's  Chronicles,  Edward  Winslow,  380. 

2  Bradford's  History,  24  (edition  of  Mass.  Historical  Society). 
8  Robert  Cushman  in  Mourt's  Relation,  147,  148. 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


Therefore  they  determined  to  go,  in  spite  of 
their  weakness  and  poverty.  The  congregation 
at  Leyden  can  hardly  have  numbered  more  than 
two  or  three  hundred.1  Only  the  younger  and 
more  vigorous  members  of  the  community  could 
go  in  the  beginning.  They  were  too  poor  to 
provide  a  ship  and  the  necessary  supplies  for  a 
colony.  So  they  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  a  company  of  business  men  in  London. 
The  company  was  to  furnish  the  capital  neces- 
sary to  carry  forward  the  enterprise.  This  was 
purely  a  business  arrangement,  and  the  terms 
were  not  very  liberal.  Those  who  were  trans- 
ported to  the  Colony  and  those  who  provided 
the  capital  were  to  be  in  partnership  for  seven 
years.  The  Colonists  were  to  work  for  the  Com- 
pany, and  they  were  to  have  "  their  meate,  drink, 
apparell,  and  all  provisions  out  of  the  common 
stock  and  goods  of  ye  colonie."  It  was  stipu- 
lated that  they  were  not  only  to  build  houses, 
and  plant  and  cultivate  the  fields,  but  also  to 
engage  in  the  fisheries,  and  that  all  the  profits 
obtained  either  by  tilling  the  land,  or  by  trading 
with  the  Indians,  or  by  the  fisheries,  should  re- 
main in  the  common  stock  until  the  seven  years 
had  expired.  At  that  time,  "  the  houses,  lands, 
goods  and  chattels  were  to  be  divided  among 

1  Young's  Chronicles,  chapter  xxvi.  pp.  455,  456.  Winslow's 
Brief  Narration,  90.  Bradford's  History,  42. 


TERMS   OF  THE  SETTLEMENT. 


those  who  had  shares  in  the  common  stock, 
whether  as  capitalists  or  as  colonists."1  It  was 
expected  that  by  the  expiration  of  that  period 
the  profits  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  of 
the  fisheries,  and  of  agricultural  industry,  would 
have  amounted  to  enough  to  repay  the  capital 
that  had  been  invested,  and  to  pay  a  profit  to 
those  who  had  shares  in  the  Colony. 

These  terms  were  accepted  by  the  Pilgrims  be- 
cause they  were  the  best  they  could  obtain,  and, 
because  they  were  convinced  that  their  success 
as  a  religious  body  depended  entirely  upon 
planting  colonies  in  America.,  It  was  agreed  that 
every  one  who  joined  the  Colony  should  become 
a  shareholder.l  Those  who  had  any  property  put 
it  into  the  common  stock.  Every  person  above 
sixteen  years  of  age  was  considered  as  the  owner 
of  one  share  of  stock,  of  the  value  of  ten  pounds. 

The  Colonists  had  asked  the  King  for  a  defi- 
nite promise  that  they  should  enjoy  religious^ 
liberty  in  their  new  homes,  but  he  had  refused 
to  make  such  a  promise.  They  had  attempted 
to  secure  from  the  Virginia  Company  a  patent 
with  a  grant  of  land  for  their  settlement.  But  at 
the  time  of  their  departure  no  patent  had  been 
secured.  A  number  of  persons  from  London 
and  other  places  in  England  joined  the  Colony, 
and  after  many  delays  they  sailed  from  Plymouth 

1  Bradford's  History,  45,  46. 


8 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


in  the  Mayflower,  a  ship  of  a  hundred  and 
eighty  tons,  September  6th,  1620,*  with  one 
hundred  and  two  persons  on  board. 

What  prospect  was  there  that  this  small  colony 
would  succeed,  where  so  many  earlier  colonies 
had  failed?  Their  pastor,  John  Robinson,  had 
set  forth  the  reasons  in  a  letter  to  Sir  Edwin 
Sandys,  three  years  before.  He  said:  — 

"  ist.  We  verily  believe  and  trust  ye  Lord  is  with  us, 
unto  whom  and  whose  service  we  have  given  ourselves 
in  many  trialls. 

"  2ly.  We  are  well  weaned  from  ye  delicate  milke  of 
our  Mother  countrie,  and  enured  to  ye  difficulties  of  a 
strange  and  hard  land. 

"  3ly.  The  people  are,  for  the  body  of  them,  industri- 
ous, &  frugall,  as  any  company  of  people  in  the  world. 

"  4ly.  We  are  knite  together  as  a  body  in  a  most  stricte 
&  sacred  bond  and  covenante  of  the  Lord,  of  the  viola- 
tion whereof  we  make  great  conscience,  and  by  vertue 
whereof  we  doe  hould  our  selves  straitly  tied  to  all  care 
of  each  others  good,  and  of  ye  whole  by  each  one  and  so 
mutually. 

"  5.  Lastly,  it  is  not  with  us  as  with  other  men  whom 
small  things  can  discourage,  or  small  discontentments 
cause  to  wish  themselves  home  againe."1 

Mr.  Robinson  knew  his  people  well  when  he 
wrote  these  remarkable  words.  And  the  people 
showed,  in  the  experiences  of  the  next  twenty 
years,  that  he  had  not  overrated  the  faith,  and 

1  Bradford's  History,  32,  33. 


THE  MAYFLOWER. 


patience,  and  energy  of  these  Anglo-Saxon 
Christians. 

The  Mayflower  had  a  stormy  passage  across 
the  Atlantic.  On  the  Qth  of  November,  more  than 
nine  weeks  after  they  had  left  England,  they  came 
in  sight  of  land,  which  proved  to  be  Cape  Cod, 
"at  which  they  were  not  a  little  joyfull."  They 
made  some  efforts  to  sail  to  the  south  until  they 
should  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  River,  but 
they  were  turned  back  by  the  dangers  of  the  pas- 
sage, and  the  "  next  day  they  gott  into  ye  Cape- 
harbor  where  they  ride  in  saftie.  .  .  .  Being  thus 
arrived  in  a  good  harbor  and  brought  safe  to 
land,  they  fell  upon  their  knees  &  blessed  ye  God 
of  heaven,  who  had  brought  them  over  ye  vast  & 
furious  Ocean,  and  delivered  them  from  all  ye 
perils  &  miseries  thereof,  againe  to  set  their 
feete  on  ye  firme  and  stable  earth,  their  proper 
elemente." l 

Before  they  landed  they  made  preparations  for 
the  beginning  of  a  settled  government.  We  learn 
from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Robinson,  that  they  had  de- 
termined before  they  set  out  from  Leyden  "  to 
become  a  body  politike  using  civil  governmente 
amongst  themselves." 2  They  had  also  discovered 
during  the  long  voyage  across  the  sea  that  they 
had  some  disorderly  persons  in  their  company, 
who  would  need  to  be  restrained  by  the  authority 

1  Bradford,  77,  78.  2  Bradford,  66. 


IO  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

of  a  settled  government.  Governor  Bradford  tells 
us  that  the  strangers  amongst  them  had  been  say- 
ing that  "as  soon  as  they  should  come  on  shore 
they  should  do  as  they  pleased,  for  no  one  had 
power  to  command  them."1  So  they  entered  into 
a  mutual  compact,  which  was  the  foundation  of 
their  government  for  many  years.  In  this  com- 
pact they  say : — 

\/"  We  whose  names  are  underwritten,  the  loyall 
subjects  of  our  dread  soveraigne  Lord,  King 
James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britaine, 
France,  &  Ireland  King,  defender  of  ye  faith, 
&c.,  haveing  undertaken,  for  ye  glorie  of  God, 
and  advancemente  of  ye  Christian  faith,  and  honor 
of  our  King  &  Countrie,  a  voyage  to  plant  ye 
first  Colonie  in  ye  Northerne  parts  of  Virginia; 
doe  by  these  presents,  solemnly  &  mutually  in  ye 
presence  of  God,  and  one  of  another,  covenant 
and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civill  body 
politicke,  for  our  better  ordering  &  preservation 
&  furtherance  of  ye  ends  aforesaid ;  and  by  virtue 
hearof  to  enacte,  constitute,  and  frame  such  just 
&  equall  lawes,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions, 
&  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought 
most  meete  &  convenient  for  ye  general  good  of 
ye  Colonie,  unto  which  we  promise  all  due  sub- 
mission and  obedience.  In  witness  whereof  we 
have  hereunder  subscribed  our  names  at  Cape 

1  Bradford,  89. 


THE  MAYFLOWER   COMPACT.  II 

Codd,  ye  1 1  of  November,  in  ye  year  of  ye  raigne 
of  our  soveraigne  lord,  King  James,  of  England, 
France,  &  Ireland  ye  eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland 
ye  Fiftie  fourth.  Ano-Dom.  i62O.5>1 

To  this  solemn  compact  were  appended  the 
signatures  of  the  adult  males  of  the  Company,2 
as  representing  not  only  themselves  but  the 
members  of  their  families.  The  other  English 
Colonies  had  suffered  from  the  lack  of  regular 
authority.  The  idle  and  the  dissipated  had 
weakened  the  sober  and  industrious  Colonists, 
and  in  a  number  of  instances  had  ruined  the 
Colony.  Such  authority  as  existed  in  those  Col- 
onies had  been  derived  from  England,  either  by 
the  appointment  of  the  Company  on  whose  lands 
the  settlement  had  been  made,  or  by  that  of  the 
King.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  was  a  provision 
for  self-government,  under  the  sovereignty  of  the 
King  of  England.  At  this  initial  point  in  the 
history  of  the  Colony,  the  Pilgrims  showed  their 
skill  and  wisdom  as  Colonists.  They  knew  how 
to  plant  a  settlement  for  freemen.  In  this  com- 
pact it  is  taken  for  granted  that  "  rulers  derive 
their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
erned." The  signers  of  this  compact,  and  such 
others  as  they  should  select,  were  to  have  a  voice 
in  the  election  of  officers,  and  in  the  enactment 

1  Bradford,  89,  90. 

2  See  Morton's  Memorial,  26.     Prince's  Annals,  172. 


12  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

and  execution  of  laws.  "  Here,"  said  John  Quincy 
Adams,  "  was  a  unanimous  and  personal  assent, 
by  all  the  individuals  of  the  community,  to  the 
association,  by  which  they  become  a  nation." 
To  the  same  effect,  Mr.  Bancroft  said,  "  Here 
was  the  birth  of  popular  constitutional  liberty. 
In  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  humanity  recov- 
ered its  rights,  and  instituted  government  on  the 
basis  of  equal  laws  enacted  by  the  people  for  the 
general  good." 1 

After  this  excellent  beginning,  these  practical 
social  philosophers  proceeded  to  organize  the 
Colony  according  to  this  compact,  as  loyal  sub- 
jects of  the  King  of  England.  In  the  first  place, 
they  elected  Mr.  John  Carver  (a  man,  as  they 
said,  "  godly  and  well  approved  amongst  them ") 
their  Governor  for  the  remainder  of  that  year. 
The  same  day  they  sent  out  the  first  party  to 
explore  the  country,  and  find  a  place  for  a  settle- 
ment. Fifteen  or  sixteen  men,  well  armed,  were 
sent  ashore  at  what  is  now  Provincetown,  to  see 
wnat  the  land  was  and  what  inhabitants  they 
could  meet  with.  The  next  month  was  devoted 
to  these  explorations.  They  went  sometimes  in 
boats,  and  sometimes  on  foot.  The  weather  was 
cold,  and  the  severe  storms  of  the  late  autumn 
and  of  the  early  winter  were  upon  them.  The 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Centenary  Edition, 
i.  244. 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  LANDING.  13 

party  went  armed,  so  as  to  defend  themselves 
against  attacks  of  the  Indians,  who  were  some- 
times friendly  and  sometimes  hostile.  At  length, 
on  Saturday,  the  9th  of  December  (O.  S.),  Cap- 
tain Myles  Standish  and  his  party  landed  on 
Clark's  Island,  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor 
of  Plymouth.  Here  they  rested  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  according  to  the  commandment.  On  Mon- 
day, the  nth  of  December  (O.  S.),  they  landed 
on  Plymouth  rock,  not  "  on  a  stern  and  rock- 
bound  coast,"  as  Mrs.  Hemans  says,  but  "in  a 
goodly  land  with  a  very  good  harbor  for  their 
ship,"  a  place  "very  good  for  situation,  .  .  .  with 
divers  corn  fields,  and  little  running  brooks,  of 
very  sweet  fresh  water,  .  .  .  the  best  water  that 
ever  we  drunke."  The  brooks  were  full  of  fish. 
There  was  an  abundance  of  wild  fowl.  There 
was  a  great  variety  of  timber  growing.  "  So," 
they  tell  us,  "  we  returned  to  our  Ship  againe 
with  good  newes  to  the  rest  of  our  people,  which 
did  much  comfort  their  hearts."1 

On  the  1 5th  of  December  (O.  S.)  the  May- 
flower was  turned  toward  the  newly  found  har- 
bor, and  the  next  day  she  was  anchored  at  the 
entrance  to  the  bay,  whose  shores  were  said  to 
be  "like  a  Cycle,  or  Fish  Hooke."  On  the  i8th 
and  1 9th,  they  were  making  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  various  favorable  points  about  the 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  57-61. 


14  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

bay.  On  Wednesday,  the  2Oth  (O.  S.),  after 
they  had  called  upon  the  Lord  to  direct  them, 
they  decided  upon  the  place  for  their  first  set- 
tlement. They  were  prevented  from  landing 
the  two  days  following  by  a  severe  storm,  but 
on  Saturday,  December  23  (O.  S.),  which  was 
January  2  (N.  S.),  they  made  their  final  landing. 

It  was  now  almost  midwinter.  But  they  be- 
gan at  once  cutting  and  carrying  timber,  for  build- 
ing their  houses.  They  rested  on  the  24th,  which 
was  the  Sabbath ;  but  no  man  rested,  we  are  told, 
on  the  25th,  which  was  Christmas.  All  who 
were  able  to  work  went  on  shore.  Some  were 
cutting  timber,  some  were  carrying  logs  to  the 
place  selected  for  building,  some  were  sawing, 
and  some  were  splitting.  On  Thursday  they 
measured  the  ground  for  the  house  lots  of  the 
nineteen  families  into  which  they  had  divided 
their  company.  They  were  to  have  two  rows  of 
houses  for  the  sake  of  compactness,  and  greater 
safety  against  the  attacks  of  Indians.  It  was 
agreed  that  every  man  should  build  his  own 
house,  thinking  "men  would  make  more  hast 
than  working  in  common."  The  common  house, 
which  was  designed  as  the  place  for  storing  the 
goods  of  the  whole  Colony,  was  the  first  to  be 
completed.  It  was  a  building  twenty  feet  square. 
They  gathered  grass  from  the  open  fields  to 
thatch  the  roof.  It  took  them  about  three  weeks 


CALAMITIES  OF  THE    WINTER.  15 

to  complete  it.  From  that  time  until  the  other 
houses  were  ready  for  use,  those  of  the  Colony 
who  were  on  shore  used  the  common  house  as 
a  lodging  place ;  for  when  the  thatched  roof  took 
fire,  a  few  days  later,  there  were  two  men  who 
were  sick  in  bed  in  this  house,  and  "  the  house 
was  as  full  of  beds  as  they  could  lie  one  by  an- 
other." Before  the  end  of  January,  they  com- 
pleted another  building  for  storing  their  common 
provisions.  By  the  2oth  of  February  they  had 
completed  a  house  for  their  sick  people,  for 
the  unusual  experiences  and  fatigues  to  which 
these  people,  so  recently  from  the  city  of  Leyden, 
were  entirely  unaccustomed  had  caused  a  gen- 
eral sickness,  so  that  at  the  time  of  greatest  dis- 
tress there  were  but  six  or  seven  well  persons  to 
care  for  the  sick,  and  to  bury  the  dead.  But  the 
true  spirit  of  the  Pilgrims  was  manifested  in  a 
wonderful  manner  during  this  time  of  general 
distress.  Those  who  were  well,  we  are  told, 
"  spared  no  pains,  night  nor  day,  but  with  abun- 
dance of  toyle  and  hazard  of  their  own  health, 
fetched  them  wood  from  a  distance,  made  their 
fires,  and  nursed  them  as  tenderly  as  if  they  had 
been  of  their  own  families."1  But  the  mortality 
was  very  great.  Six  of  the  small  company  died 
in  December,  eight  in  January,  seventeen  in 
February,  and  thirteen  in  March.  Before  the 

1  Bradford's  History,  91,  also  foot  note. 


i6 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


year  was  over,  one  half  the  whole  number  had 
died. 

The  work  of  building  houses  was  going  on 
through  the  winter.  The  timber  was  brought 
from  the  forest  by  the  men  of  the  Colony,  for 
they  had  neither  horses  nor  cattle,  neither  cows 
nor  milk.  It  is  not  certain  how  many  houses 
were  completed  the  first  winter.  Until  the  5th 
of  April,  when  the  Mayflower  sailed  for  England, 
some  of  them  were  permitted  to  find  a  refuge, 
such  as  it  was,  on  the  ship. 

The  Indians  were  never  far  away.  Now  and 
then  they  showed  themselves  to  the  Colonists, 
but  they  were  treated  with  so  much  kindness, 
and  with  so  much  fearlessness,  that  there  was, 
for  the  most  part,  peace  between  the  English 
and  the  savages.  It  was  some  months  before 
they  were  able  to  have  any  communication  with 
them.  About  the  26th  of  March,  of  the  first 
winter,  Samoset,  an  Indian  who  had  learned  a 
little  English,  came  alone  into  the  village,  and 
bade  them  welcome.  He  told  them  of  the  vari- 
ous tribes  of  Indians,  of  their  chiefs,  and  the 
number  of  their  warriors.  They  gave  him  pres- 
ents, and  sent  him  away  in  peace.  A  little  later 
he  came  back  with  five  other  Indians,  who  were 
also  treated  in  a  kind  and  friendly  manner.  The 
ist  of  April  Samoset  returned  with  an  Indian 
who  was  able  to  speak  a  little  English,  whose 


THE  FIRST  SPRING.  I  7 


name  was  Tisquantum.  These  two  friendly 
Indians  were  of  very  great  advantage  to  the 
settlers.  They  brought  Massaspit,  the  chief  of 
the  Wampanoags  to  Plymouth,  and  prepared 
the  way  for  a  treaty  of  peace.  The  Governor 
kissed  the  hand  of  the  chief,  and  the  chief  kissed 
the  Governor.  They  drank  strong  water  to- 
gether, and,  by  the  help  of  the  interpreters,  they 
entered  into  an  alliance  of  peace  and  friendship, 
which  was  never  broken  so  long  as  the  chief 
lived. 

The  extreme  severity  of  the  winter  had  gone 
by  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  when  they  had 
a  few  "  very  faire  Sunshinie  days."  On  Sunday, 
January  3ist,  they  had  their  first  service  of 
worship  in  the  common  house  on  shore.  The 
next  day  they  carried  their  barrels  of  meal  to 
the  storehouse.  The  latter  part  of  March  they 
appointed  Captain  Myles  Standish  the  com- 
mander of  their  little  army.  Their  cannon  were 
landed  on  the  3d  of  March,  and  were  drawn  up 
the  hill  and  mounted  in  a  position  to  sweep 
the  approaches  to  the  village  in  case  of  hostile 
attack.  It  was  on  the  i3th  of  March  when 
they  heard  "  the  birds  singing  in  the  woods 
most  pleasantly,"  and  the  same  day  they  had 
their  first  thunderstorm.  On  the  2Qth  of  March 
they  prepared  the  ground  and  sowed  their  gar- 
den seeds.  About  the  same  time  the  men  of 


i8 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


the  Colony  held  a  public  meeting,  and  adopted 
the  first  laws.  The  ist  of  April  was  another 
warm  day,  and  they  held  another  public  meeting 
to  adopt  regulations  for  the  Colony. 

The  year  began  the  last  of  March,  according 
to  the  old  style,  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  old 
year  they  elected  the  excellent  Governor  Carver 
their  Governor  for  another  year.  About  this 
time  they  learned,  from  one  of  the  friendly 
Indians,  that  four  years  before  the  Colony  was 
planted,  there  had  been  a  plague  in  those  parts, 
of  which  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  had  died,  so 
that  "there  was  neither  man,  woman,  nor  childe 
remaining,  to  hinder  our  possession,  or  to  lay 
claim  unto  it."  1  This  was  regarded  by  the  Pil- 
grims as  very  remarkable,  for  it  left  the  way 
open  for  them  to  make  a  peaceable  settlement. 
It  was  also  one  of  the  indications  that  the 
Indians  of  those  parts  were  a  decaying  race.  It 
is  probable  that  they  were  becoming  fewer  be- 
fore the  settlements  of  Europeans  were  begun. 
At  the  same  time  it  is  certainly  true  that  the 
Pilgrims  treated  the  aborigines  with  great  kind- 
ness, and  that  they  never,  in  any  instance,  re- 
sorted to  hostile  measures,  excepting  when  there 
was  decisive  evidence  that  the  Indians  were  pre- 
paring for  hostilities. 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  85. 


RETURN  OF  THE  MAYFLOWER.  I  9 

II 

GOVERNOR  BRADFORD  in  his  History  begins  the 
year  1621  the  latter  part  of  March,  according  to 
the  reckoning  of  that  time.  It  was  the  spring- 
time, and  the  affairs  of  the  Colony  were  begin- 
ning to  wear  a  more  cheerful  aspect.  Several 
of  the  houses  had  been  so  far  completed  that  the 
families  could  occupy  them  with  a  The  First  spring 
degree  of  comfort.  The  severe  sick-  atplymouth- 
ness  was  abating,  and  those  of  the  Colonists  who 
had  survived  the  winter  were  regaining  strength 
and  courage.  About  the  middle  of  April  (N.  S.), 
the  Mayflower,  which  had  been  retained  through 
the  winter  on  account  of  the  distress  of  the 
Colony,  sailed  for  England.  But  no  one  of  the 
Pilgrims  went  back  in  the  vessel. 

The  people  now  began  to  plant  their  corn, 
under  the  instruction  of  Tisquantum,  the  friendly 
Indian.  They  had  no  means  of  ploughing  the 
fields,  so  that  they  were  obliged  to  prepare 
the  ground  with  hoes,  in  the  manner  of  the 
Indians.  They  used  for  seed  some  corn  which 
they  had  found  stored  in  the  ground,  where  the 
Indians  had  placed  it  for  safety.  This  corn  they 
afterwards  paid  for  at  its  full  value.  Tisquan- 
tum taught  them  how  to  enrich  the  ground 
which  they  had  planted  by  burying  in  the  soil 
the  large  fish  which  were  abundant  on  that 


2O  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

shore.  He  told  them  that  the  crop  would  come 
to  nothing  unless  they  put  in  an  abundance  of 
these  alewives.  They  also  sowed  some  wheat 
and  pease  which  they  had  brought  from  Eng- 
land. All  the  work,  except  that  in  the  small  gar- 
dens which  belonged  with  the  houses,  was  done 
in  common.  This  method  was  not  adopted  by 
the  Pilgrims  from  choice,  but  because  it  was 
required  by  the  agreement  into  which  they  had 
entered  with  those  who  had  provided  the  capital 
for  the  Colony.  There  were  only  twenty-one 
men  and  six  boys  left  to  do  the  work.  But 
this  small  company  planted  and  cultivated  twenty 
acres  of  Indian  corn,  and  six  acres  of  wheat  and 
pease,  or  barley,  besides  carrying  forward  their 
building  operations.  A  little  later  we  find  that 
they  had  eleven  buildings,  seven  of  which  were 
dwellings,  and  the  others  houses  for  the  general 
use  of  the  plantation. 

While  they  were  busy  with  their  planting, 
Governor  Carver  died,  after  an  illness  of  a  very 
few  days.  He  was  greatly  lamented,  and  was 
buried  with  military  honors.  A  few  days  later 
William  Bradford  was  chosen  Governor  by  the 
suffrages  of  the  men  of  the  Colony,  and  Isaac 
Allerton  was  chosen  his  Assistant. 

On  the  27th  of  May  the  first  marriage 
in  the  Colony  took  place.  Edward  Winslow, 
whose  wife  had  died  during  the  terrible  winter, 


VISIT  TO  MASSASOIT.  21 

married  Mrs.  Susanna  White,  the  mother  of 
Peregrine,  the  first  child  born  after  their  arrival. 
Her  husband  also  had  died  during  the  winter. 
There  was  no  minister  amongst  them,  and  the 
ceremony  was  performed  by  a  magistrate,  and 
probably  by  Governor  Bradford. 

As  the  urgent  business  of  the  springtime  was 
finished,  the  enterprising  Colony  determined  to 
send  an  expedition  into  the  wilderness  to  explore 
the  country,  and  to  cultivate  peaceful  relations  with 
their  new  friend  Massasoit.  Edward  Winslow  and 
Stephen  Hopkins  were  sent  by  the  Governor,  on 
the  1 2th  of  July,  with  their  friend  Tisquantum, 
who  was  both  interpreter  and  guide.  They  took 
with  them  presents,  with  a  message  of  peace,  and 
also  an  invitation  to  the  chief  to  open  a  trade 
with  them  in  furs,  which  the  Indians  desired  to 
sell,  as  much  as  the  English  desired  to  buy. 
They  were  instructed  to  offer  to  pay  the  full 
value  for  the  corn  which  they  had  dug  out  from 
the  Indian  place  of  storage  on  their  first  landing. 
The  business  was  all  skilfully  and  successfully 
done.  They  were  two  days  on  the  journey  out, 
and  had  abundant  opportunities  to  study  the 
people  and  the  country,  and  to  make  friends 
among  them.  Massasoit  was  not  at  home  when 
they  arrived,  but  he  came  at  the  call  of  their 
messenger.  They  discharged  their  guns,  and 
saluted  him.  They  then  delivered  their  messages, 


22  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

and  their  presents  to  the  chief.  He  made  them 
a  great  speech,  after  the  Indian  manner,  renewed 
his  assurances  of  peace  and  friendship,  and  invited 
them  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace.  On  Friday 
morning  they  set  out  for  home,  and  arrived  safely 
before  the  Sabbath.  The  result  of  this  friendly 
visit  was  to  strengthen  the  ties  of  friendship,  and 
to  prepare  the  way  for  a  profitable  trade  with  the 
Indians. 

On  the  1 4th  of  August  Captain  Standish  was 
sent  with  his  small  army  of  fourteen  well  armed 
men  into  the  Indian  country,  to  rescue  one  of 
the  friendly  Indians,  who  was  supposed  to  be 
detained  by  an  unfriendly  chief.  This  expedition 
pushing  boldly  into  the  wilderness  impressed  the 
Indians  with  the  courage  and  strength  of  the 
Colonists.  They  brought  back  the  friendly  In- 
dian in  safety,  and  increased  the  influence  of  the 
English.  A  little  later  they  received  peaceful 
messages  from  a  number  of  chieftains,  and  they 
had  a  number  of  opportunities  to  trade  with  the 
natives. 

Late  in  September  another  expedition  was  sent 
to  explore  the  country  north  of  the  settlement,  to 
make  treaties  with  the  Indians,  and  to  open  trade 
with  them.  The  party  went  in  the  shallop  as  far 
as  what  is  now  Boston  harbor,  some  forty-four 
miles.  There  were  ten  men,  with  Tisquantum  as 
an  interpreter,  and  two  other  Indians.  They  made 


VISIT  TO  BOSTON  HARBOR.  2$ 

the  acquaintance  of  the  Massachusetts  tribe  of 
Indians.  They  were  received  in  a  friendly  way, 
and  had  opportunities  to  extend  the  sphere  of  in- 
fluence of  the  Colony,  and  to  learn  many  things 
in  regard  to  the  habits  of  the  natives.  They  won 
their  confidence  by  their  "  gentle  carriage  towards 
them,"  and  found  them  eager  to  trade  their  furs 
for  such  goods  as  the  English  had  to  sell.  Some 
of  them  even  sold  the  fur  robes  from  their  backs, 
and  tied  branches  of  trees  about  themselves,  after 
the  manner  of  the  dwellers  in  Eden.  The  shallop 
was  anchored  in  Boston  Bay.  The  party  went 
fearlessly  into  the  country,  and  were  so  much 
pleased  with  what  they  saw  that  they  wished  they 
had  settled  there  instead  of  at  Plymouth.  They 
came  home  in  safety,  and  brought  a  quantity  of 
beaver  skins.  They  had  a  fair  wind  on  the  re- 
turn voyage,  which  began  at  evening  and  ended 
before  noon  of  the  next  day.1 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  energy  and  enter- 
prise of  this  little  Colony  during  this  first  year, 
which  had  brought  them  so  many  bereavements. 
There  were  no  losses  from  dissipation  or  from 
idleness.  They  were  an  industrious  and  thrifty 
community.  They  made  their  own  laws,  and 
executed  them.  They  had  their  military  organi- 
zation for  defence  against  all  enemies. 

The  harvest  which  they  gathered  in  October 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  124-130. 


24  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

was  abundant.  "  We  had  a  good  increase  of 
Indian-Corne,"  they  said,  "  and  our  barley  indif- 
ferent good,  but  our  pease  not  worth  the  gather- 
ing. .  .  .  We  are  so  farre  from  want,  that  we  often 
wish  you  were  partakers  of  our  plentie."  "  I 
never  in  my  life  remember  a  more  seasonable 
year,"  said  Mr.  Winslow,  "  than  we  have  here 
Results  of  the  enjoyed,  and  if  we  have  once  but 
First  Harvest.  KinC)  Horses,  and  Shecpe,  I  make  no 
question  but  men  might  live  as  contented  here 
as  in  any  part  of  the  world." ]  The  grain  was  all 
stored  in  the  common  house,  and  there  was  found 
to  be  enough  to  provide  a  peck  of  meal  a  week 
for  each  person.  Game  was  abundant  at  that 
season.  Wild  turkeys  were  numerous,  and  water 
fowl  of  various  kinds.  They  had  a  good  supply 
of  fish,  and  of  lobsters,  and  they  obtained  oysters 
from  the  Indians.  They  also  found  excellent 
fruits  growing  in  the  open  spaces,  such  as  grapes, 
and  plums,  and  various  sorts  of  berries.  So  that 
Governor  Bradford  says :  "  All  ye  somer  there  was 
no  wante."2  Their  relations  with  the  Indians 
had  become  so  friendly  that  Winslow  tells  us 
they  went  about  in  the  woods  as  safely  "  as  in 
the  hieways  in  England." 

So  they  appointed  their  first  Thanksgiving. 
The  Governor  sent  four  men  to  shoot  such  game 
as  the  woods  afforded,  and  these  in  one  day  se- 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  133-135-  2  History,  105. 


THE  FIRST   THANKSGIVING. 


cured  "as  much  fowl  as,  with  a  little  help  beside, 
served  the  Company  almost  a  week."  They  had 
games,  and  military  exercises,  and  feasts.  The 
Indians  came  in  to  enjoy  the  festival  with  them. 
This  Thanksgiving  lasted  a  number  of  days,  and 
was  probably  accompanied  by  religious  services, 
though  these  are  not  mentioned  in  the  earlier 
records.1 

The  Colony  consisted  at  this  time  of  about 
fifty  persons.  So  far  as  we  know,  there  were 
seven  dwellings.  An  equal  division  of  the  peo- 
ple would  give  about  seven  persons  to  a  dwell- 
ing. These  were  built  of  squared  timbers.  The 
spaces  between  the  timbers  were  filled  in  with 
clay,  which  was  sometimes  destroyed  by  the 
wind  and  rain.  The  roofs  were  thatched.  The 
fireplaces  were  probably  of  stones,  laid  in  clay. 
The  chimneys,  standing  outside  the  walls,  were 
of  wood,  plastered  inside  with  clay.2  They  had 
oiled  paper,  instead  of  glass,  for  their  windows.3 

On  the  2ist  of  November,  they  discovered 
a  ship  making  for  their  harbor.  It  proved 
to  be  the  Fortune,  of  fifty-five  tons,  Arrival  of  the 
sent  out  by  their  friends  in  England  Forttme- 
with  a  reinforcement  for  the  Colony.  There 
were  thirty-five  in  this  party,  most  of  them  young 

1  Mourt's  Relation,  133. 

2  Goodwin's  Pilgrim  Republic  582,  583. 
8  Mourt's  Relation,  142. 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


men.  Among  them  were  John  Winslow,  a 
brother  of  Edward,  and  Jonathan  Brewster,  el- 
dest son  of  Elder  Brewster;  Thomas  Cushman, 
son  of  Robert  Cushman,  afterwards  Elder  of  the 
Church  in  Plymouth ;  Thomas  Prence,  who  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Elder  Brewster;  and  others 
from  Leyden,  who  became  valuable  citizens. 
Bradford  says  that  many  of  those  who  came  were 
wild  young  men,  who  little  considered  whither 
they  went.  "  The  plantation,"  he  says,  "  was  glad 
of  this  addition  to  its  strength,  but  could  have 
wished  that  many  of  them  had  been  of  better 
condition,  and  all  of  them  better  furnished  with 
provisions,  but  y*  could  not  be  helpt."  These 
new  comers  were  without  provisions  when  they 
landed,  and  were  scantily  furnished  with  cloth- 
ing. The  ship  brought  a  Charter,  granted  by 
the  President  and  Council  of  New  England  to 
John  Pierce  and  his  associates,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Colony.  This  is  now  preserved  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  document 
in  Massachusetts  connected  with  her  history. 

The  Fortune  sailed  for  England  at  the  end 
of  fourteen  days,  taking  back  the  first  cargo  from 
the  Colony,  which  was  valued  at  about  ,£500. 
It  consisted  of  beaver  skins  and  lumber,  with 
some  sassafras.  Unfortunately  this  precious 
cargo  never  reached  the  Company  in  England, 
for  the  ship  was  captured  by  a  French  armed 


RETURN  OF  THE  FORTUNE.  2J 

vessel,  and  taken  to  a  French  port.  After  a  few 
days  the  master  and  his  company  were  permitted 
to  return  to  England  with  the  ship,  but  the  cargo 
was  confiscated. 

III. 

AFTER  the  sailing  of  the  Fortune  the  officers 
of  the  Colony  began  to  make  preparations  for  the 
winter.  The  number  to  be  fed  and  sheltered 
was  now  increased  to  eighty-six.  The  The  second 
new  comers  were  disposed  among  the  Wlnter- 
several  families,  increasing  the  average  number 
to  ten  or  twelve  persons.  An  exact  account  was 
taken  of  the  provisions  in  store,  and  it  was  found 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  increase  in  their 
numbers,  it  was  necessary  to  put  them  all  upon 
a  half  allowance  of  food.  "So  they  were  pres- 
ently put  on  half  allowance,  one  as  well  as 
another,  which  begane  to  be  hard,  but  they  bore 
it  patiently  under  hope  of  supply."  The  dwell- 
ings were  made  as  comfortable  as  possible,  and 
the  scanty  supplies  of  food  were  supplemented 
by  hunting  and  fishing. 

Soon  after  the  Fortune  had  sailed,  the  chief 
sachem  of  the  Narragansett  tribe  of  Indians, 
which  then  possessed  nearly  all  the  territory  now 
included  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  sent  a 
messenger  to  Governor  Bradford  with  a  bundle 
of  arrows  wrapped  in  the  skin  of  a  rattlesnake- 


28 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


This  was  interpreted  by  the  friendly  Indians  as 
a  hostile  challenge.  The  Governor,  with  the 
advice  of  Captain  Standish,  stuffed  the  rattle- 
snake skin  with  powder  and  shot,  and  sent  it 
back  to  the  chief  with  a  message  that,  if  "  they 
had  rather  have  warre  than  peace,  they  might 
begin  when  they  would :  they  had  done  them  no 
wrong,  neither  did  yey  fear  them,  or  should  they 
find  them  unprepared."  This  bold  defiance  of 
a  chieftain,  who  is  said  to  have  been  able  to  lead 
into  the  field  some  thousands  of  savage  warriors, 
seems  to  have  prevented  a  hostile  attack.  The 
snake  skin  was  sent  from  one  chief  to  another, 
and,  when  no  one  would  receive  it,  was  re- 
turned to  Plymouth.  The  Colonists,  however, 
lost  no  time  in  enclosing  their  village  with  a 
strong  line  of  palisades,  extending  half  a  mile. 
This  task  was  accomplished  in  five  weeks.  In 
the  line  of  palisades  were  bastions,  from  which 
the  whole  outside  could  be  raked  with  musketry. 
Captain  Standish  divided  his  small  army  into 
four  squadrons,  and  gave  the  men  frequent 
opportunities  for  military  discipline,  and  yet  the 
Pilgrims  were  never  attacked.  The  wall,  which 
was  guarded  at  night  by  vigilant  sentries,  sufficed 
to  prevent  the  hostilities  which  it  was  built  to 
resist. 

The  regular  work  of  the  Colony  went  on  dur- 
ing the  winter.    One  incident  has  been  preserved. 


CHRISTMAS.  29 


On  Christmas  day  the  Governor  called  the  men 
as  usual  to  work.  But  some  of  the  new  comers 
excused  themselves,  and  said  it  was  against  their 
consciences  to  work  on  that  day.  So  the  Gov- 
ernor told  them  that,  if  they  made  it  a  matter  of 
conscience,  he  would  excuse  them  till  they  were 
better  informed.  So  he  led  away  the  rest  and 
left  them.  But  when  they  returned  from  their 
work  at  noon,  he  found  them  playing  games  in 
the  street.  He  told  them  that  it  was  against 
his  conscience  that  they  should  play  and  others 
work.  So  he  took  away  their  implements,  and 
said  that,  if  they  made  the  keeping  of  Christmas 
a  matter  of  devotion,  they  should  keep  their 
houses,  but  there  should  be  no  gambling  or 
revelling  in  the  streets. 


IV 

THE  foundations  of  the  Pilgrim  Republic  were 
laid  during  those  earliest  months  of  its  history. 
The  people  showed  the  same  heroic     Thepugrim 
spirit,  with  the  same  fortitude  and  pa-     Republic, 
tience,  as  the  Colony  grew  older.    Governor  Brad- 
ford was  re-elected  in  1622,  and  from  year  to  year 
as  long  as  he  lived,  except  that  in  1633  he  got 
off  "  by  importunity,"  and  on  four  or  five  other 
occasions  he  secured  a  respite  for  a  year.     The 
community  was  well  regulated  and  orderly,  mak- 


3<D  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

ing  its  own  laws,  in  subordination  to  the  laws 
of  England,  electing  its  own  officers,  and  adapt- 
ing its  habits  to  the  conditions  of  a  new  country. 
The  first  of  the  laws  entered  in  the  record  book  of 
the  Colony  provided  for  trial  by  a  jury  of  twelve 
honest  men,  to  be  impanelled  by  authority,  upon 
their  oath.  This  was  enacted  December  27,  1623. 
The  Indian  policy  of  the  Colony  was  from  the 
beginning  one  of  kindness  and  good  faith  blended 
The  Indian  with  firmness.  When  the  Pilgrims 
policy.  heard  that  the  Indians  in  Virginia 

had  massacred  some  hundreds  of  the  Eng- 
lish settlers,  they  redoubled  their  vigilance,  and 
kept  themselves  well  informed  of  what  was  going 
on  among  their  dusky  neighbors.  When  there 
seemed  to  be  occasion  for  a  more  elaborate  forti- 
fication, they  built  their  fort  on  the  hill,  and 
mounted  their  six  cannon,  and  kept  sentinels  on 
duty  day  and  night  to  guard  against  a  surprise. 
Yet  they  continued  to  go  without  fear  among 
those  bands  of  Indians  on  whose  fidelity  they 
had  learned  to  rely.  In  the  spring  of  1623  they 
were  told  that  their  friend  Massasoit  was  very 
sick,  and  likely  to  die.  The  Governor  immedi- 
ately sent  Mr.  Winslow  and  Mr.  Hampden,  with 
visit  to  an  interpreter  and  a  message  of  sym- 

Massasoit-  pathy,  and  with  some  simple  medi- 
cines. It  was  more  than  a  day's  journey  through 
the  wilderness.  They  found  the  chief  at  the 


SICKNESS  OF  MASSASOIT.  31 

point  of  death,  but  succeeded   in   checking  his 
disease,  and  restoring  him  to  health.     Massasoit 
revealed  to  Mr.  Winslow  a  plot,  which  Some  of 
the  more  distant  Indians  had  formed,  to  massacre 
the  entire  Colony,  together  with  another  English 
Colony  that  had  been  planted  in   the  vicinity.1 
On  their  way  homeward  one  of  the  chiefs    in- 
quired of  Mr.  Winslow  how  he  dared  come  so 
far  into  the  Indian   country.     He  replied  that,  -N. 
when  there  was  true  love,  there  was  no  fear,  and     \ 
that  his  heart  was  so  upright  towards  them  that      j 
he  was   fearless   to   come   amongst  them.     The 
Indians   observed    that   they   craved   a    blessing 
before    their   meals,  and    returned   thanks   after- 
wards,  and  they  inquired  the  meaning   of   this 
custom.      This    gave     Mr.    Winslow   an    oppor- 
tunity to  talk  with  them  about  God's  providence, 
and  His  commandments,  and  the  ways  in  whiclx 
they   could   secure    His   good   will.     This   is   a  \ 
specimen    of   the    ways   in   which    the    Pilgrims     ) 
taught  the  principles  of  the   Christian   religion  / 
to  the  natives.2 

On  reaching  Plymouth  Mr.  Winslow  made 
known  the  warning  he  had  received  from  Massa- 
soit that  the  hostile  bands  of  Indians  were  pre- 
paring to  attack  the  Colony.  The  Indians  had 
become  incensed  against  Mr.  Weston's  English 

1  Young's  Chronicles,  315,  325. 

*  Young's  Chronicles,  243,  257,  271. 


32  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Colony  at  Weymouth,  b'ecause  they  had  at  various 
times  treated  them  with  injustice  and  cruelty, 
and  they  had  combined  to  destroy  not  only  that 
Colony,  but  the  Colony  at  Plymouth  also.  Mas- 
sasoit  himself  had  been  urged  to  join  the  con- 
spiracy, but  had  refused. 

This  matter  was  laid  before  the  people  of  the 
Colony  at  their  Annual  Court,  April  2d,  1623, 
and  it  was  voted  to  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
Governor,  his  Assistant,  and  Captain  Standish. 
They  acted  with  promptness  and  energy,  though 
it  grieved  them  to  shed  the  blood  of  those  whose 
good  they  had  been  seeking.  Captain  Standish 
took  eight  men,  with  the  shallop  to  Weymouth, 
where  he  found  out  who  were  the  hostile  chiefs, 
and  what  their  plans  were.  A  severe  conflict  fol- 
lowed, in  which  seven  of  the  Indian  leaders  were 
slain.  This  broke  up  the  conspiracy,  and  Captain 
Standish  returned  in  a  few  days  to  Plymouth  with 
all  his  party.  Their  pastor,  John  Robinson,  who 
was  still  in  Leyden,  blamed  them  for  shedding  the 
blood  of  the  savages,  saying,  "  O  how  happy  a 
thing  had  it  been  if  you  had  converted  some,  be- 
fore you  had  killed  any !  "  But  the  Pilgrims  had 
ample  proof  of  the  plot  to  massacre  themselves, 
their  wives  and  their  children,  as  well  as  the 
people  of  the  other  Colony.  They  believed  it 
was  right  for  them  to  make  the  conflict  short, 
sharp,  and  decisive.  It  is  pleasant  to  know  that 


FAMINE  IN  1622.  33 


this  was  the  only  serious  trouble  they  ever  had 
with  the  Indians  of  their  vicinity,  during  the  en- 
tire history  of  the  Colony.  They  always  treated 
them  justly  and  kindly,  purchasing  the  land  they 
occupied  at  a  price  that  was  satisfactory  to  those 
who  had  a  claim  upon  it.1  So  unjust  is  the  wit- 
ticism, which  is  sometimes  repeated  even  now, 
which  asserts  that  our  forefathers,  when  they 
landed  on  these  shores, 

"  First  fell  on  their  knees, 
Then  on  the  Aborigines." 


V 

IN  respect  to  the  growth  of  the  Colony,  there: 
was  a  slow  but  real  improvement  from  year  to 
year.  In  1622  we  are  told  that  by  the  end  of 
May  their  scanty  store  of  provisions  was  ex- 
hausted. They  secured  a  small  sup-  Famine 
ply  from  the  fishing  vessels  on  the  inI622. 
coast  of  Maine,  which  enabled  them  to  give  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  bread  a  day  to  each  person. 
They  lived  through  the  summer  for  the  most 
part  on  shellfish,  which  they  could  take  with  the 
hand.  The  bay  was  full  of  fish,  but  they  had  no 
fish-hooks  or  seines.  It  was  not  the  season  for 
game.  In  May  of  that  year  they  sent  the  shallop 
with  ten  men  on  a  second  trading  voyage  to  Bos- 

1  Young's  Chronicles,  259 ;  Congregational  Quarterly,!.  129-135. 

3 


34  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A   COLONIST. 

ton  Bay,  which  secured  for  them  a  good  supply 
of  beaver  skins  in  exchange  for  articles  which  the 
Indians  wanted. 

They  planted  their  fields  as  they  had  done  the 
year  before,  but  their  agricultural  labor  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  necessity  of  building  the  fort  on  the 
hill,  and  of  keeping  guard  against  an  attack  by 
the  Indians.  Some  of  the  growing  corn  was 
stolen  by  people  who  sought  a  refuge  in  their 
harbor  while  on  their  way  to  Weymouth.  The 
harvest,  when  it  was  gathered,  proved  quite  in- 
sufficient for  their  wants.  Early  in  September, 
however,  the  ship  Discovery  came  into  the  har- 
bor, and  sold  them  a  quantity  of  knives  and 
beads,  such  as  they  needed  in  their  trade  with  the 
Indians.  They  also  supplied  themselves  at  that 
time  with  fishing  tackle.  As  the  fall  came  on, 
they  were  able  to  increase  their  stores  of  food  by 
game  and  fish.  They  also  bought  a  quantity  of 
corn  and  beans  from  the  Indians  who  lived  about 
the  Cape.  So  that  they  were  able  to  live  through 
the  second  winter  with  comfort. 

As  the  spring  of  1623  came  on,  it  was  decided 
to  abandon,  so  far  as  practicable,  the  communis- 
tic methods  which  they  had  followed  since  the 
beginning  of  the  settlement.  A  portion  of  land 
was  assigned  to  each  family,  to  cultivate  for  a 
year  on  its  own  account.  This  gave  a  new 
spirit  to  the  Colony.  The  incentives  to  industry 


THE  GREAT  DROUGHT.  35 

were  increased,  so  that,  we  are  told,  much  more 
corn  was  planted  than  in  the  earlier  years,  and 
even  the  women  went  into  the  fields  to  plant 
corn,  taking  their  little  ones  with  them.  Still 
they  were  required  to  set  apart  a  regular  portion 
of  their  gains  to  meet  the  general  obligations  of 
the  Colony,  and  to  support  the  government.  A 
severe  drought  followed  in  the  early  summer, 
and  there  was  danger  that  they  would  fail  to 
reap  a  harvest.  A  day  of  special  prayer  for 
rain  was  appointed.  In  the  morning  of  the  day, 
when  they  came  together,  "  the  heavens  were  as 
clear,  and  the  drought  as  like  to  continue  as  ever 
it  was,"  yet,  "  (our  exercise  continuing  some  eight 
or  nine  hours),  before  our  departure  me  Great 
the  weather  was  overcast,  the  clouds  Drought- 
gathered  together  on  all  sides,  and  on  the  next 
morning  distilled  such  soft,  sweet,  and  moderate 
showers  of  rain,  continuing  some  fourteen  days, 
and  mixed  with  such  seasonable  weather,  as  it 
was  hard  to  say  whether  our  withered  corn  or  our 
drooping  affections  were  most  quickened." l  The 
pagan  Indians,  we  are  told,  took  notice  of  these 
wonderful  answers  to  their  prayers,  and  were 
impressed  with  the  goodness  of  the  God  of  the 
English.  The  Pilgrims  soon  kept  a  day  of  public 
thanksgiving  on  account  of  the  abundant  rain. 
Until  the  time  of  harvest  there  was  great 

1  Young's  Chronicles,  349-351. 


36  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

scarcity  of  food.  The  people  lived  on  ground 
nuts,  clams,  and  fish.  There  was  neither  bread 
nor  corn  for  months  together.  Sometimes  at 
night  they  did  not  know  where  to  have  a  bit  in 
the  morning.  Yet  the  people  were  orderly  and 
hopeful,  and  continued  their  regular  work.  Six 
or  seven  fishing  companies  were  formed,  and  as 
they  had  but  a  single  boat,  the  companies  took 
turns  in  going  out  for  fish.  No  sooner  had  one 
company  returned  than  the  next  went  out  in 
the  boat.  Neither  did  they  return  till  they  had 
caught  something,  though  it  was  five  or  six  days, 
for  there  was  nothing  at  home,  and  "  to  goe 
home  emptie  would  be  a  great  discouragement 
to  ye  reste."1 

In  August  they  were  encouraged  by  the  arrival 
of  two  ships  from  England,  the  Anne,  and  the 
Little  James,  bringing  ninety-six  passengers  for 
the  Colony.  Many  of  these  were  from  the  old 
Church  in  Leyden,  and  several  were  wives,  chil- 
dren, and  kindred  of  the  early  settlers.  There 
were  many  pleasant  reunions.  Yet  the  new 
comers  were  disappointed  at  what  they  found  in 
the  Colony.  Their  friends  were  greatly  changed 
by  the  hardships  of  two  years.  The  best  dish 
they  could  present  their  friends  was  a  lobster,  or 
a  piece  of  fish,  without  bread,  or  any  thing  else 
but  a  cup  of  spring  water.  Some  of  them  were 

1  Bradford,  137. 


THE  FOREFATHERS. 


ragged,  and  they  had  lost  the  freshness  of  their 
complexion. 

The  ninety-six  passengers  who  came  in  these 
ships,  together  with  thirty-five  in  the  Fortune, 
and  a  hundred  and  two  in  the  Mayflower, — 
two  hundred  and  thirty-three  in  all,  —  make  up 
the  number  of  those  who  are  known  as  the  Pil- 
grims, or  the  First  Comers,  or  the  Forefathers. 
The  passengers  who  came  this  year  were  all  in 
good  health  excepting  one,  and  they  found  that 
those  who  came  in  the  Mayflower  had  enjoyed 
good  health  since  the  time  of  the  great  mortality 
of  the  first  winter. 

The  new  comers  had  brought  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions sufficient  to  last  them  until  they  could 
raise  a  crop  the  next  summer,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  growing  crops  should  belong  to  those 
who  had  planted  them,  while  those  just  arrived 
should  depend  upon  their  own  provisions.  But 
when  the  time  of  harvest  came,  all  such  matters 
were  forgotten.  In  place  of  famine  there  was  an 
abundance  of  food  for  all,  and  under  the  new 
arrangement  of  personal  property  in  crops  the 
face  of  things  was  soon  entirely  changed.  All 
had  enough,  and  some  of  the  more  industrious 
had  to  spare,  so  that  from  that  time  there  was  no 
season  of  famine  or  of  want. 

The  village  had  grown  by  the  addition  of  a 
number  of  dwellings.  The  lower  story  of  the 


38  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

fort  had  been  finished,  so  that  it  was  used  for 
religious  services  on  the  Lord's  day,  as  well  as 
for  general  meetings  of  the  Colony.  It  was  a 
great  gratification  to  the  people  that  they  were 
able  to  load  with  furs  and  with  lumber  the  ship 
Anne,  which  sailed  for  England  late  in  Sep- 
tember, and  thus  to  make  a  good  beginning  in 
paying  the  debt  which  the  Colony  owed  to  those 
who  had  furnished  their  supplies.  In  November, 
however,  there  was  a  serious  fire  at  Plymouth, 
which  consumed  three  or  four  dwellings.  It 
began  next  the  general  storehouse,  in  which 
was  the  stock  of  trading  goods  for  the  Colony, 
and  the  provisions  for  the  coming  year.  Gover- 
nor Bradford  states  that  if  this  storehouse  had 
been  destroyed,  the  plantation  must  have  been 
abandoned.  So  critical  were  the  hours  when  they 
were  trying  to  extinguish  the  flames. 


VI 

THE  year  1624  was  one  of  prosperity  for  Ply- 
mouth. The  success  of  the  experiment  of  giving 
to  each  family  a  portion  of  land  to  cultivate  led 
to  the  abandonment  of  the  communistic  plans 
which  they  had  followed,  not  from  choice,  but 
because  they  seemed  to  be  required  by  the  terms 
of  their  agreement  with  the  capitalists  in  England. 
In  certain  matters  the  business  of  the  Colony  was 


THE   YEAR  1624.  3Q 


still  carried  on  as  that  of  one  company,  which  was 
accumulating  funds  to  pay  a  large  debt  which 
rested  upon  the  entire  Colony.  But  besides  that, 
it  was  now  provided  that  a  portion  of  land  should 
be  divided  amongst  the  inhabitants,  giving  one 
acre  to  each  person  as  his  own.  Ninety-seven 
small  lots  were  assigned  at  this  time,  including 
about  two  hundred  acres,  and  all  the  lots  were  as 
near  the  settlement  as  possible.  No  larger  sec- 
tions were  assigned  until  the  end  of  the  seven 
years  during  which  they  were  bound  to  carry  on 
the  business  of  the  Colony  as  a  common  interest.1 
There  were  at  this  time  thirty-two  dwelling-houses 
in  Plymouth,  besides  the  buildings  erected  for 
public  uses.  This  spring  the  first  cattle  were 
brought  into  the  Colony  from  England :  "  three 
heifers  and  a  bull,  the  first  beginning  of  that  kind 
of  cattle  in  the  land." 2 

Plentiful  harvests  followed  from  year  to  year, 
under  the  new  method.  The  people  not  only 
raised  corn  enough  for  their  own  wants,  but  had 
a  surplus,  which  they  were  able  to  sell  at  six 
shillings  a  bushel.  They  extended  their  trade  in 
furs,  and  lessened  from  year  to  year  the  old  debt 
in  England.  Their  stock  of  cattle  increased  so 
that  there  were  twelve  cows  in  1627.  In  1626  a 
number  of  goats  were  brought  into  the  Colony. 
We  have  an  interesting  account  of  the  condition 

1  Bradford,  167.  2  Bradford,  158. 


4O  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

of  the  settlement  in  1627  by  Isaac  de  Rasieres, 
secretary  of  the  Dutch  Colony  at  Manhattan. 
He  says :  — 

"  New  Plymouth  lies  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  with  one 
broad  street.  The  houses  are  constructed  of  hewn 
planks,  with  gardens  also  enclosed  behind  and  at  the 
sides,  so  that  their  houses  and  courtyards  are  arranged 
in  very  good  order,  with  a  stockade  against  a  sudden 
attack.  At  the  ends  of  the  streets  there  are  three 
wooden  gates.  In  the  centre,  on  the  cross  street, 
stands  the  Governor's  house,  before  which  is  a  square 
enclosure  upon  which  four  cannon  are  mounted.  Up 
the  hill  they  have  a  large  square  house  with  a  flat  roof, 
made  of  thick  sawn  planks,  stayed  with  oak  beams,  upon 
the  top  of  which  they  have  six  cannon  which  shoot  iron 
balls  of  four  or  five  pounds,  and  command  the  surround- 
ing country.  The  lower  part  they  use  for  their  church, 
where  they  preach  on  Sundays  and  the  usual  holidays. 
They  assemble  by  beat  of  drum,  each  with  his  musket 
or  firelock,  in  front  of  the  captain's  door.  They  have 
their  cloaks  on,  and  place  themselves  in  order,  and  are 
led  by  a  sergeant  without  beat  of  drum.  Behind  comes 
the  Governor  in  a  long  robe :  beside  him,  on  the  right 
hand  comes  the  preacher  with  his  cloak  on,  and  on  the 
left  the  captain  with  his  side  arms  and  cloak." 

It  is  probable  that  there  was  more  of  martial 
array  on  this  particular  Sunday  than  usual,  on 
account  of  the  presence  of  the  Dutch  secretary. 
But  the  Pilgrims  were  on  guard  night  and  day, 
Sundays  as  well  as  week  days,  and  they  were 
never  taken  by  surprise. 


END  OF  THE  FIRST  SEVEN  YEARS.  4! 

The  end  of  the  first  seven  years  was  a  marked 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Colony.  A  settlement 
was  made  with  the  capitalists  in  England  who 
had  provided  the  funds  for  the  Colony ;  and  it 
was  found  that  the  balance  of  debt  was  ,£1,800. 
Security  for  the  payment  of  this  sum  was  given 
by  eight  enterprising  men  of  the  Colony.  Among 
them  were  William  Bradford,  Myles  Standish, 
Edward  Winslow,  William  Brewster,  and  John 
Alden,  who  bound  themselves  to  pay  ,£200  a  year 
until  the  whole  sum  was  paid.1  This  settlement 
left  the  Colony  entirely  free  from  the  restrictions 
which  had  hindered  its  growth,  and  opened  the 
way  for  a  more  rapid  development. 

First  of  all,  they  made  a  new  division  of  land. 
The  good  land  nearest  the  settlement  was  laid 
out  into  shares  of  twenty  acres  each.  One  share 
was  assigned  by  lot  to  each  man  in  the  Colony, 
another  to  his  wife,  and  one  to  each  of  their 
children.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  land  they 
already  had.  There  were  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  shares  of  land  assigned  at  this  time.  The 
records  of  the  Colony  show  that,  besides  the  one 
hundred  and  fifty-six  who  received  lots  of  land, 
there  had  been  one  hundred  and  eleven  other 
members  of  the  Colony,  fifty-three  of  whom  had 
removed  to  other  places  before  that  time,  and 
fifty-eight  had  died,  making  two  hundred  and 

1  Bradford,  212-214. 


42  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

sixty-seven  in  all.      There  had  been  only  seven 
deaths  since  the  great  mortality  of  the  first  year. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  debts  of  the  Colony 
those  who  had  given  bonds  to  the  English  capi- 
talists formed  themselves  into  a  company,  which 
is  known  in  this  history  as  "  The  Undertakers." 
It  was  agreed  that  the  Undertakers  should  have 
control  of  the  trade  of  the  Colony  for  the  term  of 
six  years.  The  profits  of  this  trade  would  go  far 
towards  paying  the  debts.  They  also  engaged  to 
import  such  goods  as  the  Colonists  needed,  which 
were  to  be  sold  to  them  in  exchange  for  corn  at 
six  shillings  a  bushel.  Each  holder  of  a  share  of 
land  was  to  pay  to  the  Undertakers  three  bushels 
of  corn  or  six  pounds  of  tobacco  each  year  for 
six  years.  All  the  shares  of  land  were  to  be 
holden  for  the  payment  of  the  debts.  Thus  the 
Undertakers  acted  as  the  agents  of  the  Colonists, 
and  each  Colonist  agreed  to  contribute  a  small 
sum  each  year  towards  the  payment  of  the  debt. 
In  the  end  the  debt  was  honestly  paid  in  full,  and 
the  encumbrances  upon  the  lands  of  the  Colonists 
were  removed. 

VII 

THE  Plymouth  Colony  was  a  Democracy.  The 
Compact  signed  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower 
assumed  that  those  who  signed  it  were  freemen, 
and  voters  in  the  new  commonwealth.  The 


DEMOCRACY  OF  THE  PILGRIMS.  43 

common  law  of  England  was  always  recognized 
as  in  full  force  in  the  Colony,  and  from  time  to 
time  they  insisted  that  they  had  all  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  Englishmen.  In  institutions  of 
subsequent  years  men  were  admitted  tte  ^s111118- 
to  the  rights  of  freemen  in  the  Colony  by  vote  of 
the  citizens.  There  was  never  a  religious  test 
of  citizenship.  Some  of  the  men  of  greatest 
influence,  such  as  Myles  Standish,  were  never 
members  of  the  church  at  Plymouth.  The 
people  were  very  tolerant  of  those  who  differed 
with  them.  Yet  they  had  a  high  ideal  of  the 
responsibilities  of  citizenship.  In  1671  it  was 
provided  that  one  to  be  eligible  to  citizenship 
should  be  of  "  sober  and  peaceable  conversation, 
and  orthodox  in  the  fundamentals  of  religion." 
Their  manner  of  life  was  very  simple.  The 
houses  contained  not  more  than  two  or  three 
rooms.  The  floors  were  of  hewn  planks  or  of 
earth,  sprinkled  with  sand  or  rushes.  Some  of 
the  rooms  contained  furniture  brought  from 
England  or  from  Holland.  But  the  most  of 
the  furniture  was  very  simple  and  rude.  There 
was  now  and  then  a  silver  spoon,  but  there  were 
more  pewter  spoons  and  platters.  Most  of  the 
table  furniture  was  of  wood.  There  were  a  few 
books.  Governor  Bradford  left  a  library  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  volumes.  Brewster 
had  four  hundred  volumes  at  the  time  of  his 


44  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

death.  Myles  Standish  had  Homer's  Iliad, 
Caesar's  Commentaries,  Bariffe's  Artillery,  His- 
tories of  Queen  Elizabeth,  of  England,  of  Ger- 
many, and  of  Turkey,  Calvin's  Institutes,  Wilson's 
Dictionary,  a  number  of  Commentaries  on  the 
Scriptures,  and  other  books  appraised  at  ^n  9^. 
In  the  other  Pilgrim  homes  we  may  be  sure 
there  were  copies  of  the  Geneva  Bible,  with 
some  books  of  history  and  of  devotion. 

_werg  able  to 


write.  They  had  lived  twelve  years  in  Holland, 
when  "  every  child  went  to  school."  1  At  Ply- 
mouth they  taught  their  children  themselves  so 
long  as  they  were  unable  to  maintain  a  public 
school.  As  soon  as  practicable  they  passed 
laws  for  the  maintenance  of  public  schools  for 
all  the  children.  There  are  constant  references 
to  schools  and  schoolmasters  in  their  earlier  his- 
tory. They  planted  the  church  and  the  school 
side  by  side  in  their  settlements.2 
Their  dress  was  like  tb^  whirb 


mon  in  England.  One  can  see  illustrations  of 
it  in  old  English  portraits  of  that  period.  They 
wore  loose  cloaks,  and  felt  hats  with  broad  brims 
and  high  crowns,  —  short  coats  commonly  belted 
at  the  waist,  broad  linen  collars  and  cuffs  turned 
back,  knee  breeches,  long  stockings,  and  low  shoes 

1  Campbell's  Puritan  in  Holland,  i.  161. 

2  Bradford,  161,  162.     Pilgrim  Republic,  494,  495. 


THEIR  MANNER   OF  LIFE.  45 

with  silver  buckles  over  the  instep.  There  was 
more  color  in  the  dress  of  the  men  than  is  com- 
mon in  our  time.  The  dress  of  the  women  was 
much  more  like  that  which  is  now  worn  than 
that  of  the  men.  It  was  not  of  costly  materials, 
and  the  styles  did  not  change  from  year  to  year.1 

Their  life  was  simple  and  frugal  and  industri- 
ous. The  men  put  up  the  buildings,  tilled  the 
fields,  without  the  help  of  horses  or  oxen  in 
the  earlier  years,  hunted  the  wild  game,  or  took 
the  fish  from  the  brooks  or  the  sea.  The  women 
cared  for  their  homes,  prepared  the  food,  took 
care  of  their  children  (which  were  numerous  in 
the  new  settlement),  and  nursed  the  sick.  There 
were  times  when  the  women  and  children  went 
into  the  fields  to  assist  in  planting,  and  in  caring 
for  the  growing  crops. 

They  were  a  thoughtful  people,  and  were  prone 
to  free  discussion.  They  managed  their  demo- 
cratic government  intelligently  and  wisely.  They 
were  a  very  patient  people.  In  some  instances 
they  were  greatly  wronged  by  those  who  had 
been  appointed  to  do  their  business  in  England. 
There  was  no  need  that  the  debts  of  the  Colony 
should  have  hung  over  it  so  many  years.  They 
did  use  such  means  as  they  could  to  obtain  their 
rights.  But  their  poverty,  and  the  smallness  of 
their  numbers,  and  the  distance  of  the  English 

1  The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam,  25,  26. 


46 


THE   PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


markets  made  it  very  difficult  for  them  to  enforce 
the  contracts  which  they  had  made  with  their 
agents.  The  gentleness  and  patience  of  the 
people,  as  they  continued  their  toil  year  after 
year,  were  sublime. 

It  was  a  great  sorrow  to  them  that  their  pastor, 
John  Robinson,  was  never  able  to  come  to  Ply- 
mouth from  Holland.  He  died  in  Leyden  in 
1625,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's  Church.  So 
long  as  he  lived  they  regarded  themselves  as  still 
under  his  ministry.  He  sent  them  frequent  let- 
ters, which  were  read  by  them  instead  of  his  dis- 
courses. But  their  Elder,  William  Brewster,  who 
had  been  an  officer  of  the  church  while  they  were 
in  Leyden,  preached  "  twice  every  Sabbath,  both 
powerfully  and  profitably  to  ye  great  contentment 
of  ye  hearers.  Many  were  brought  to  God  by  his 
ministrie."  In  1624  Mr.  John  Lyford,  an  edu- 
xhe pilgrim  cated  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
church.  England,  was  sent  to  Plymouth  by 

the  capitalists  in  England,  through  whom  the 
Pilgrims  did  their  business.  He  was  kindly  re- 
ceived, and  for  a  time  he  alternated  with  Elder 
Brewster  in  preaching.  But  Mr.  Lyford  did  not 
easily  fall  in  with  the  methods  of  these  Separatists, 
and  after  a  few  months  he  began  to  hold  services 
in  a  private  house,  using  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer.  The  community  was  too  small  to  main- 
tain  two  congregations,  and,  after  much  discussion, 


THEIR  MINISTERS.  47 


Mr.  Lyford  was  sent  out  of  the  Colony.1    He  went 
first  to  Salem,  and  later  to  Virginia. 

In  1629,  Mr.  Ralph  Smith,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  a  university  man,  came  to  Plymouth.  He 
had  been  ordained  in  the  Church  of  England,  but 
had  become  a  Separatist.  He  was  chosen  the 
pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  Church,  and  continued  in 
that  office  five  or  six  years.  He  had  as  an  as- 
sociate in  the  ministry  for  about  two  years  the 
celebrated  Roger  Williams,  who  left  Plymouth 
in  1633.  In  those  years  the  Pilgrims  had  for  the 
first  time  a  minister  who  was  authorized  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments,  which  they  prized  very 
highly.  Mr.  John  Norton  came  in  1636,  and 
remained  one  year.  After  him  came  Mr.  John 
Reynor,  "  an  able  and  a  godly  man,"  who  minis- 
tered to  them  most  acceptably  seventeen  years 
as  teacher  of  the  church.  There  are  very  slight 
references  to  the  salaries  of  these  ministers,  but 
we  find  that  in  1642  the  Plymouth  Church  bought 
the  house  and  barns  and  gardens  of  Mr.  Smith, 
with  six  acres  of  land,  and  presented  the  estate  to 
Mr.  Reynor.  In  1638  the  learned  and  brilliant 
Charles  Chauncy  came  to  Plymouth,  having  been 
obliged  to  £ee  from  England  by  the  stress  of 
persecution.  He  was  made  the  pastor  of  the 
Church  in  connection  with  Mr.  Reynor,  and 
continued  there  until  1641. 

1  See  a  full  account  of  the  troubles  with  Mr.  Lyford  in  Bradford, 
171-196. 


48  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

In  the  service  of  song  the  Pilgrims  used  Ains- 
worth's  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms,  with 
tunes  printed  in  only  one  part.  The  singing 
was  congregational.  They  used  the  Geneva 
Bible  in  their  services.  Two  or  three  chapters 
_,  r  were  read,  and  a  full  exposition  was 

Services  of  Wor- 
ship in  the  pu-      given.     A  prayer  was  offered  at  the 

grim  Churches.        f       •        •  i  .      f 

beginning,  and  another  at  the  end  of 
each  service.  Two  Psalms  were  usually  sung  in 
unison  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  of  the 
service.  The  sermon  had  a  prominent  place 
always.  The  sacraments  were  administered  at 
stated  times,  and  there  was  a  collection  for  the 
support  of  the  minister  of  the  Church,  and  for 
the  poor. 

Among  the  most  useful  men  in  the  Colony 
was  Samuel  Fuller,  the  first  deacon  of  the 
Church,  and  the  beloved  physician.  He  was 
also  for  some  years  an  officer  in  the  Colony. 
We  read  of  him  as  prescribing  not  only  for  his 
own  people,  but  also  for  the  friendly  Indians. 
More  than  once  he  was  called  to  the  Massachu- 
setts Colony  in  times  of  special  suffering  from 
the  diseases  incident  to  a  new  settlement.  He 
seems  to  have  been  loved  and  trusted  by  all,  and 
to  have  exerted  an  influence  in  both  Colonies, 
which  was  in  some  respects  greater  than  that  of 
any  other  of  the  Pilgrims.  He  died  in  1633. 


GROWTH  OF  THE   COLONY.  49 


VIII 

IN  1630,  the  Council  for  New  England  sent 
over  from  London  a  new  and  more  liberal  and 
definite  patent  of  the-  territory  of  Plymouth.  It 
included  what  is  at  present  the  three  counties  of 
Plymouth,  Bristol,  and  Barnstable,  excepting  the 
towns  of  Hingham  and  Hull.  The  Extension  of  the 
title  ran  to  William  Bradford  and  his  Colony- 
heirs.  At  a  later  time  he  transferred  his  rights 
to  the  Colony.  This  patent  gave  to  him  and  his 
associates  the  power  to  establish  a  government, 
and  to  make  and  execute  laws.  Still  the  Colony 
always  recognized  the  Mayflower  compact  as  the 
fundamental  law. 

The  population  of  the  Colony  increased  but 
slowly.  In  1627  it  numbered  a  hundred  and 
eighty.  In  1630,  it  numbered  three  hundred. 
In  1643,  it  had  increased  to  about  three  thou- 
sand. In  1690,  there  were  eight  thousand. 

As  the  danger  of  attacks  from  the  Indians 
became  less,  there  was  a  strong  tendency  to 
scatter  the  settlements  over  the  whole  territory 
covered  by  their  patent.  The  settlement  in  Dux- 
bury  was  begun  in  1632;  that  at  Scituate  in 
1636.  Mansfield  was  incorporated  in  1640.  A 
few  years  later  the  towns  of  Yarmouth,  Sand- 
wich, Barnstable,  and  Taunton  were  settled. 

4 


5O  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

These  towns  were  represented  by  their  deputies 
in  the  General  Court. 

By  the  year  1632,  there  had  been  a  great  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  domestic  animals,  and 
the  work  on  the  farms  was  carried  on  by  the 
use  of  oxen,  and  in  some  instances  of  horses. 
In  1637,  apple  orchards  had  become  common 
in  Duxbury. 

In  the  earlier  years,  the  corn  was  pounded  in 
hand  mortars.  In  1633,  the  first  rude  mill  was 
built.  In  1636,  there  was  a  grist  mill  near  Ply- 
mouth, where  the  corn  was  ground. 

The  legislation  of  the  Colony  was  such  as  was 
required  from  time  to  time,  under  the  limitations 
of  the  laws  of  England.  It  was  ordered  in  1628 
that  thatched  roofs  should  be  changed  for  roofs 
of  boards  or  paling.  The  earliest  liquor  law  was 
passed  in  1633.  It  provided  that  not  more  than 
two  pence  worth  of  liquor  should  be  sold  to  any 
Laws  of  the  person  except  to  strangers.  In  1636, 
there  was  a  careful  revision  of  the 
laws,  and  from  that  time  we  have  a  regular 
record  of  the  Acts  of  the  General  Court.  This 
body  consisted  at  first  of  all  the  freemen.  As 
the  settlements  extended,  it  was  enacted  that 
every  town  within  the  Colony  should  make  choice 
of  two  of  its  freemen,  and  the  town  of  Plymouth 
of  four,  to  serve  as  deputies ;  and  these  deputies, 
in  connection  with  the  officers  of  the  Colony, 


THE   PILGRIM  LA  WS.  5  J 


were  to  constitute  the  General  Court.  There 
was  a  second  revision  of  the  laws  in  1658,  and  a 
third  in  1671,  when  the  laws  were  printed  for  the 
first  time.  In  1685,  the  fourth  and  last  revision 
of  the  laws  was  made.  The  General  Court  used 
to  meet  at  7  A.  M.  in  summer,  and  at  8  A.  M.  in 
winter. 

The  legislation  of  the  Colony  provided  for  the 
annual  election  of  the  Governor  and  his  Assist- 
ants, and  of  the  Deputies.  The  rights  of  con- 
science were  carefully  guarded  in  the  legislation. 
The  laws  were  such  as  were  needed  in  a  new 
country,  where  the  permanent  settlers  were  liable 
to  annoyances  from  the  lawless  and  irresponsible 
people  who  came  in  the  ships  that  resorted  to  the 
harbor.  There  were  little  settlements,  at  that 
time,  all  along  the  coast,  made  up  of  very  differ- 
ent people  from  the  Pilgrims.  Some  of  these  set- 
tlements were  so  lawless  that  they  existed  only  a 
short  time.  The  people  of  Plymouth  were  con- 
stantly troubled  by  these  unwelcome  strangers. 
As  the  population  increased,  there  were  laws  to 
regulate  the  taking  and  sale  of  fish,  the  burning 
of  forests,  and  trading  with  Indians.  There  were 
laws  respecting  roads,  ferries,  bridges,  fairs,  ale- 
houses, military  service,  marriage,  and  the  collec- 
tion of  taxes.  Profane  swearing  was  forbidden. 
In  the  later  years  of  the  Colony  persons  were 
fined  for  desecration  of  the  Lord's  day,  for  ab- 


52  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

sence  from  public  worship,  and  for  reviling  the 
ministers.  In  1658,  a  law  was  passed  for  sup- 
porting the  ministers  by  a  tax  levied  upon  all 
citizens. 

The  Pilgrims  shared  the  common  opinions  of 
their  time  in  respect  to  witchcraft.  The  later 
laws  of  Plymouth  required  that  a  witch  should 
be  put  to  death.  There  were  two  trials  for 
witchcraft,  one  in  1661,  the  other  in  1677.  In 
both  cases  the  verdict  of  not  guilty  was  rendered 
by  the  jury.  There  were  also  laws  against  the 
Quakers,  which  seem  very  severe  to  the  people 
of  our  time.  They  were  executed  with  more  or 
less  severity,  but  they  were  not  in  accordance 
with  the  gentle  and  charitable  spirit  of  the 
Pilgrims. 

IX 

ONLY  a  part  of  those  who  settled  within  the 
limits  of  Plymouth  Colony  were  Pilgrims.  We 
wot  aii  were  have  seen  in  the  earlier  pages  that 
pilgrims.  the  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  who 

landed  at  Plymouth  before  1624  were  called  the 
Forefathers,  or  the  Pilgrims.  The  next  party 
that  came  from  Leyden  in  1629  was  made  up  of 
thirty-five.  A  smaller  party  came  from  Leyden 
the  next  year.  These  two  parties,  in  addition 
to  those  who  were  here  before,  make  less  than 
three  hundred.  These  were,  for  the  most  part, 


NOT  ALL  .PILGRIMS.  5  3 

good  representatives  of  that  rare  body  of  men 
from  whom  the  plan  for  emigration  to  America 
had  its  spring.  They  were  gentle,  charitable, 
and  tolerant.  That  which  we  call  the  Pilgrim 
spirit  came  from  these  men  and  women. 

After  the  larger  Colony  of  Massachusetts  was 
planted,  in  1628  there  were  influences  exerted 
upon  the  Old  Colony  to  modify  its  ruling  ten- 
dencies. There  was  a  constant  and  friendly  in- 
tercourse between  the  people  of  the  two  Colonies; 
and  this  made  the  Puritan  somewhat  like  the 
Pilgrim,  and  the  Pilgrim  more  or  less  like  the 
Puritan.  A  good  many  of  those  who  landed  at 
Plymouth  removed  after  a  time  to  Massachu- 
setts. A  large  number  from  Massachusetts  settled 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Old  Colony.  Judge 
Davis  of  Plymouth  has  stated  that  "  the  old  Pil- 
grim Colony  was  inundated  and  overwhelmed  by 
migrations  from  her  sister  Colony.  Taunton, 
Rehoboth,  Barnstable,  Sandwich,  and  Yarmouth 
had  all  been  settled  by  emigrants  having  little 
or  no  affiliations  with  the  Colony  into  which  they 
had  come."1  A  more  recent  writer  has  stated 
"  that  the  territory  of  the  Plymouth  Colony  was 
settled  by  people  from  Massachusetts  Bay,  with 
the  exception  of  Plymouth,  Duxbury,  Marshfield, 
and  Eastham." 2 

1  History  of  the  Town  of  Plymouth,  William  T.  Davis,  65,  66. 

2  The  Bay  Colony,  William  D.  Northend,  LL.  D.,  16. 


54  THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 

In  1643,  tne  four  Colonies  of  Plymouth,  Mas- 
sachusetts, Connecticut,  and  New  Haven  were 
The  confedera-  united  in  a  Confederation  called  The 
tion.  United  Colonies  of  New  England. 

This  Confederation  brought  the  Colony  of  Ply- 
mouth into  constant  communication  with  the 
Puritan  Colonies,  and  it  led  to  some  modifica- 
tions of  the  earlier  methods.  Plymouth  lost 
something  of  its  independence  of  thought  and 
iction,  and  it  adopted  some  of  the  laws  of  the 
>ay  Colony.  The  most  severe  laws  of  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  such  as  those  for  the  punishment 
of  Quakers  and  for  the  punishment  of  witch- 
craft, were  enacted  after  the  time  of  the  Confed- 
eration, and  after  the  people  of  the  Bay  Colony 
had  come  in  great  numbers  into  the  territory  of 
Plymouth. 

These  tendencies  toward  the  lessening  of  the 
differences  between  the  Pilgrims  and  the  Puri- 
tans were  strengthened  by  the  act  of  the  English 
government  in  1692,  which  united  the  two  Col- 
onies  of   Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts. 
And   yet  it  is  an  open  question  which  section 
/"was  most  influenced  by  the  other.     Very  much 
/   of  the  spirit  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers  remains  to 
this   day  in  the   great   State    of  Massachusetts. 
/     Many   of  the  best   elements   in    New   England 
\character  are  our  inheritance  from  them. 


SUCCESS  OF  THE   COLONY.  55 

X 

IT  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  narrative  to  give  a 
complete  history  of  the  Pilgrims,  but 
simply  to  show  some  of  the  qualities 
of  that  people  as  Colonists. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
among  the  people  of  modern  times,  have  been 
most  successful  in  planting  vigorous  colonies  in 
the  outlying  parts  of  the  world.  They  have  had 
the  freedom,  and  the  enterprise,  and  the  faith 
from  which  successful  colonies  could  be  devel- 
oped. The  English  Pilgrims  had  the  instinct 
of  colonization.  They  were  so  few,  and  their 
resources  were  so  slender,  that  the  plan  to  cross 
the  Atlantic  and  plant  settlements  in  New  Eng- 
land seemed  quite  impracticable.  We  are  re- 
minded again  of  the  memorable  words  of  their 
pastor,  John  Robinson,  who  was  perfectly  sure 
they  would  succeed,  because  they  were  indus- 
trious, and  frugal,  and  temperate,  and  accustomed 
to  overcome  difficulties,  and  because  they  looked 
for  direction  in  all  their  ways  to  the  Ruler  of  the 
world,  and  because  they  were  bound  together  in 
Christian  bonds.  It  was  because  they  were  such 
a  people  that  they  secured  the  confidence  and 
good  will  of  the  people  of  Holland,  and  were 
able  to  charter  ships  for  the  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  to  secure  capital  with  which  to 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


procure  supplies  for  their  settlement,  and  were 
able  to  put  up  dwellings  at  Plymouth  in  the 
depth  of  winter;  to  organize  and  govern  their 
little  commonwealth  without  the  aid  of  a  royal 
charter;  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  savages 
by  their  gentleness  and  good  faith,  and  to  con- 
trol them  by  their  steady  courage.  Other  Eng- 
lish settlements  on  the  coast  were  failing  because 
of  the  lack  of  stamina  among  their  people,  but 
the  Pilgrim  settlement  held  on  its  way,  with 
singular  patience  and  wisdom,  until,  in  its  third 
year,  it  reached  the  point  where  the  harvest  was 
not  only  sufficient  for  its  wants,  but  where  it  had 
food  to  sell  to  its  neighbors.  The  Pilgrims  were 
always  kind  and  gentle  in  their  dealings  with  the 
Indians,  but  they  were  also  vigilant  and  coura- 
geous. If  the  savages  would  make  war  upon 
them,  they  were  always  ready  to  accept  thfc  chal- 
lenge. They  were  safe  because  they  were  sol- 
diers, well  armed  and  disciplined,  and  always  on 
the  alert  against  the  attacks  of  a  crafty  enemy. 

They  were  enterprising  as  well  as  industrious. 
They  never  forgot  the  obligation  to  repay  the 
money  which  had  been  advanced  to  them.  They 
carried  on  a  profitable  trade  with  the  Indians  all 
along  the  eastern  coast.  They  planted  trading 
stations  on  the  Kennebec  and  the  Connecticut. 
They  were  among  the  most  successful  fishermen 
and  fur-traders.  In  some  instances  they  were 


MORALS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  57 

obliged  to  pay  thirty  and  even  fifty  per  cent  for 
the  use  of  money.  They  were  grievously  wronged 
by  some  of  the  agents  whom  they  had  employed. 
But  in  the  end  every  shilling  which  they  owed 
was  paid.  They  had  the  respect  of  the  Indians 
and  of  their  Dutch  neighbors,  and  of  the  great 
Colony  which  the  Puritans  planted  to  the  north 
of  them.  There  was  nothing  weak  or  slippery 
about  those  gentle  Christians.  If  they  sung 
psalms  they  took  their  muskets  with  them  to  the 
place  of  prayer,  and  they  were  always  ready, 
not  only  to  defend  their  own  homes,  but  to  send 
help  to  their  neighbors  in  times  of  danger. 
Their  gentleness  had  made  them  great.  They 
had  the  faith  that  rises  above  adversity.  If  they 
had  no  meat  or  bread,  they  could  live  on  fish. 
If  they  had  no  fish,  they  could  live  on  shell-fish, 
and  thank  God  that  they  had  still  "  the  abun- 
dance of  the  sea,  and  treasures  hid  in  the  sand." 

They  had  learned  in  Holland  how  to  order  a 
free  state.  They  never  forgot  that  "  all  religions 
were  free "  in  that  land.  They  respected  the 
rights  of  conscience  at  a  time  when  other  Eng- 
lish Christians  denied  those  rights.  They  re- 
garded the  individual  as  the  unit  of  the  state, 
and  they  made  all  citizens  equal  before  the  law. 
They  planted  the  school  by  the  side  of  the 
church  in  all  their  settlements,  and  kept  alive 
even  in  the  hardest  years  the  love  of  knowledge. 


THE  PILGRIM  AS  A    COLONIST. 


With  a  great  price  they  obtained  their  free- 
dom, and  they  spared  no  pains  to  preserve  it. 
They  honored  the  Lord's  day  and  His  word. 
They  sought  out  men  of  learning  and  piety  as 
their  religious  teachers,  and  they  went  con- 
stantly to  the  place  of  worship. 

So  the  Colony  grew  and  prospered.  There  were 
great  men  among  them,  —  men  of  learning  and 
of  statesmanship  as  well  as  of  piety.  Some  of 
those  men  had  stood  before  kings.  Some  of  them 
wrote  books  the  world  will  not  willingly  let  die. 
One  of  these  books  has  just  been  brought  back 
to  Massachusetts,  and  deposited  in  the  archives 
of  the  State,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  it 
was  written,  a  treasure  which  the  Mother  Coun- 
try yielded  gracefully  to  the  keeping  of  the 
great  nation  which  had  embodied  in  its  con- 
stitution the  principles  which  Governor^  Brad- 
ford and  his  associates  had  so  clearly  stated  in 
the  "  Compact "  written  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower. 

It  is  to  the  credit  of  the  Pilgrims  that  they 
lived  in  good  fellowship  with  the  larger  Colony 
at  the  Bay.  They  learned  some  things  from 
them,  while  they  gave  them  some  of  their  own 
principles.  The  New  England  spirit  did  not 
come  altogether  from  the  Pilgrims,  nor  alto- 
gether from  the  Puritans.  They  both  came 
from  different  sections  of  the  great  English 


THEIR    TOLERATION.  59 

people.  They  both  came  here  on  account  of 
persecution  for  their  religious  views  and  prac- 
tices. They  were  both  the  champions  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  They  were  both  very  far 
in  advance  of  their  age.  It  was  well  that  they 
both  came  to  the  New  World,  because  they  were 
able  here  to  work  out  their  principles  more  freely, 
and  with  a  stronger  hold  upon  the  future,  than 
they  could  have  secured  in  the  Old  World. 


II 

The  Puritan  as  a  Colonist 


The  Puritan  as  a  Colonist 

THE  Pilgrim  Colony  at  Plymouth  prepared 
the  way  for  the  larger  Puritan  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  From  the  time  when  the 
Pilgrims  settled  at  Plymouth,  the  eyes  of  the 
English  Puritans  were  directed  towards  them. 
They  studied  their  progress  with  increasing  in- 
terest, as  it  became  more  probable  from  year  to 
year  that  the  only  way  by  which  they  could  pro- 
vide for  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  secure 
their  liBerties  as  Englishmen,  was  by  planting 
colonies  in  America.  We  have  the  well  known 
message  of  one  of  their  leaders :  "  Let  it  not  be 
grievous  unto  you  that  you  have  been  instrumen- 
tal to  break  the  ice  for  others.  The  honor  shall 
be  yours  to  the  world's  end." 

There  had  been  Puritans  in  England  for  two 
or  three  generations  before  they  began  to  plant 
colonies.      They  were   increasing  in     The  English 
numbers    and    in   influence   through     *>&»**• 
the  reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  of  James  the  First. 
They   had   a   controlling   influence   among    the 
English  people  during  the  first  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.     In    1604,  the  French  ambassa- 


64  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

dor  wrote  to  the  French  Court  that  the  English 
Parliament  was  "  composed  mostly  of  Puritans." 
They  included  a  large  part  of  the  intelligent  and 
prosperous  middle  classes  of  the  English  people, 
—  the  country  gentlemen  and  the  commercial 
classes, — with  a  fair  proportion  of  the  professional 
men.  The  merchants  and  traders  of  England 
had  been  rising  rapidly  in  wealth  and  in  social 
position  and  influence.  The  common  people  of 
that  age  were  becoming  more  intelligent.  Hume 
tells  us  that  the  aggregate  property  of  the  Puri- 
tan House  of  Commons  of  1629  was  computed 
to  be  three  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  Lords.1 

The  Puritans  were  the  advanced  Protestants 
of  their  time.  In  respect  to  the  methods  of 
Church  government  they  were  in  closer  sym- 
pathy with  the  Reformed  Churches  on  the  Conti- 
nent of  Europe,  and  with  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
than  with  the  Church  of  England.  And  yet 
they  were  not  Separatists.  They  were  disposed 
to  maintain  their  rights  and  liberties  inside  the 
National  Church,  and  inside  the  kingdom.  As 
a  party,  they  used  all  constitutional  methods  to 
secure  a  reform  both  in  the  Church  and  in  the 
State.  They  sent  their  sons  to  the  English 
Universities,  where  they  were  prepared  to  be- 
come leaders  in  the  struggle  for  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty.  They  elected  a  majority  of  the 

1  Hume,  chap.  i.     Greene,  iii.  6-8. 


HIS  POLITICAL  PRINCIPLES.  65 

House  of  Commons  a  number  of  times,  and  they 
were  able  to  limit  very  much  the  arbitrary  plans 
of  the  King,  and  to  compel  him  to  recognize  the 
rights  of  the  people.  They  were  constantly  in- 
sisting in  Parliament  upon  the  principle  that 
"governments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed."  It  was  not  stated  in 
those  terms  precisely  in  those  days,  but  that  was 
the  substance  of  the  contention  of  the  statesmen 
of  that  period.  King  James  told  his  Parlia- 
ment that  their  "  privileges  were  derived  from 
the  gracious  concessions  of  their  monarchs," 
and  that  it  was  "  treason  for  them  to  question  his 
royal  prerogative."  But  the  Commons  informed 
the  King,  through  Sir  Edward  Coke,  that  he 
"possessed  no  prerogative  whatever  except  by 
the  law  of  the  land."1  King  James  said,  "The 
properties  and  causes  of  calling  a  Parliament  are 
to  confer  with  the  King  and  give  him  their  ad- 
vice in  matters  of  greatest  weight  and  impor- 
tance." "  I  am  your  kindly  King,"  he  said, 
"therefore  do  what  you  ought.  Show  a  trust 
in  me,  and  go  on  honestly  as  ye  ought  to  do, 
like  good  and  faithful  subjects,  and  what  you 
have  warrant  for,  go  on  with,  and  I  will  not  be 
curious  unless  you  give  me  too  much  cause/'2 
But  the  Commons  refused  to  vote  money  un- 

1  Lord  Campbell,  Lives  of  the  Chief  Justices,  chap.  viii. 

2  Parliamentary  History,  i.  1373-1376. 

5 


66 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


less  the  King  would  respect  the  laws  of  the  land, 
and  when  they  did  vote  money  they  appointed 
a  committee  to  attend  to  the  disbursement  of 
the  revenues.  It  was  their  policy  to  keep  the 
national  treasury  under  their  own  control,  as 
the  most  effective  means  of  limiting  the  arbi- 
trary power  of  the  King.  James  claimed  more 
power  than  any  English  sovereign  had  ever 
claimed  before ;  and  the  people  insisted  more 
resolutely  than  ever  before  upon  their  rights 
and  liberties. 

The  crisis,  which  was  inevitable,  came  in  the 
early  years  of  Charles  the  First.  He  insisted 
upon  the  royal  prerogative  as  strenuously  as  his 
father  had  done.  The  House  of  Commons  drew 
up  the  famous  Petition  of  Right,  in  behalf  of  the 
laws  and  the  ancient  liberties  of  the  English  peo- 
ple, to  which  the  King  gave  a  reluctant^assent. 
But  he  continued  to  levy  taxes  without  authority 
of  law,  and  to  make  arbitrary  arnests,  and  he  in- 
structed his  officers  who  had  the  prisoners  in 
charge  not  to  recognize  the  writ  of  Habeas  Cor- 
pus. He  dissolved  three  Parliaments  in  succes- 
sion, and  for  eleven  years  he  governed  Eng- 
land without  the  authority  of  Parliament,  collect- 
ing revenues  in  such  ways  as  he  found  most 
convenient. 

In  the  mean  time  some  of  the  leading  clergy- 
men in  the  Established  Church  were  preaching 


RESISTANCE   TO   TYRANNY. 


the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience,  and,  as  a  recent 
writer  has  said,  they  were  turning  religion  into 
a  systematic  attack  upon  English  lib-  The  church  of 
erty.  Laud  was  now  Bishop  of  Lon-  Eneland- 
don,  and  he  already  had  a  leading  part  in  the 
administration  of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Many  of 
the  Non-Conforming  ministers  were  driven  from 
their  parishes  by  the  Court  of  High  Commission. 
Some  of  them  were  imprisoned.  Others  were 
compelled  to  flee  from  the  country.  At  the  same 
time  some  of  the  conforming  clergymen  were  in- 
troducing the  doctrines  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.  It  seemed  to  the  Puritans 
that  their  Mother  Church  was  likely  to  discard 
the  Protestant  faith. 

The  Puritans  were  not  agreed  as  to  the  best 
course  to  pursue.  Some  of  them  were  inclined 
to  remain  in  their  native  land  and  defend  their 
rights  in  the  Church  and  in  the  kingdom.  The 
great  majority  of  them  were  of  this  opinion,  and 
a  few  years  later  they  took  up  arms  against  the 
King,  and  established  the  Commonwealth.  A 
smaller  number  of  the  Puritans  believed  that  it 
was  necessary  to  plant  colonies  beyond  the  sea, 
and  establish  free  Christian  states  there,  which 
would  be  places  of  refuge  in  future  years,  not 
only  for  themselves,  but  for  their  Protestant  fel- 
low countrymen. 

The  outlook  for  freedom  in  Europe  was  not 


68  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

promising.  The  earlier  hopes  of  the  growth  of 
Protestantism  had  been  grievously  disappointed. 
In  France,  the  Huguenots  were  already  at  the 
mercy  of  their  enemies.  In  Germany  the  Thirty 
Years'  War  had  reached  the  darkest  period  for 
the  cause  of  Protestantism.  In  England  there 
seemed  to  be  very  little  promise  of  security  for 
civil  or  religious  liberty.  Several  of  the  leading 
members  of  Parliament  had  been  arrested  and 
committed  to  the  Tower.  They  were  held  at  the 
King's  pleasure,  and  were  required  to  make  their 
submission  to  the  King  as  the  condition  of  their 
release.  The  most  eminent  of  them  all,  Sir  John 
Eliot,  was  kept  in  prison  until  he  died.  Charles 
proclaimed  his  purpose  to  govern  without  a 
Parliament  until  the  people  should  cease  their 
opposition  to  his  policy. 


I 

IT  was  at  that  time  that  a  large  and  influential 
portion  of  the  English  Puritans  began  to  prepare 
to  transport  themselves  and  their  families  to 
America.  Their  plans  were  formed  with  great 
care  and  deliberation.  It  was  two  or  three  years 
before  they  were  matured. 

Among  those  who  had  a  leading  part  in  pre- 
paring the  way  for  the  first  Colony  was  the  ex- 
cellent John  White,  who  had  been  the  Puritan 


THE  DORCHESTER  ADVENTURERS.  69 

rector  of  Trinity  Church  in  Dorchester    Rev.  John 
for  more  than  twenty  years.     The  Pu-    WMte- 
ritans  were  numerous  in  that  part  of  England. 
A  number  of  the  merchants  of  Dorchester  were 
engaged  in  the  business  of  fishing  on  the  coast 
of  New  England.     A  number  of  vessels  went  out 
every  year  from  Dorchester  for  the  fishing  grounds. 
By  the  influence  of  Mr.  White  an  association  was 
formed  with  the  name  of  "  The  Dorchester  Ad- 
venturers," and  with  a  capital  of  three  thousand 
pounds,  to  form  a  settlement  on  Cape  Ann,  where 
the  fishermen  could  be  employed  in  agricultural 
pursuits  when  not  employed  in  taking  fish,  and 
where  a  minister  could  be  supported,  to  impart  re- 
ligious instruction  to  the  fishermen  who  resorted 
there,  and  to  teach  the  Indians  the  Christian  faith. \ 
The  Dorchester  Company  sent  a  small  party 
to  begin  the  settlement  in   1624.     In  1625  they 
appointed   Mr.  Roger  Conant  Governor  at  Cape 
Ann,  and   invited   Mr.  John   Lyford  to  become 
the  minister  of  the  plantation.     Both  these  men\ 
had  removed  from   Plymouth  because  they  did   i 
not  accept  the  principles  of  the  Separatists.     Mr. 
Lyford  probably  conducted  religious  services  af-y 
ter  the  Episcopal  forms.     In  the  fall  of  1626  the 
settlement  was  removed  to  Naumkeag,  where  a 
number  of  houses  were  erected,  and  where  the 
settlers  planted  corn,  and  prepared  to  make  their 
permanent  home. 


7O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

The  fact  that  a  settlement  had  been  com- 
menced at  that  point  led  a  number  of  men  of 
settlement  wealth  and  influence  in  England  to 
at  saiem.  make  plans  for  sending  a  colony  of 

Puritans  to  that  place.  In  1628  a  grant  of 
land  was  secured  from  "  The  Council  for  New 
England,"  including  a  large  part  of  what  is  now 
Massachusetts.  A  new  company  was  formed, 
which  purchased  from  "  The  Dorchester  Adven- 
turers "  all  their  property  at  Cape  Ann  and 
Naumkeag.  Mr.  John  Endicott,  one  of  the  most 
virile  of  the  Puritan  leaders,  was  appointed  to 
conduct  the  Colony.  He  sailed  from  Weymouth 
in  the  ship  Abigail,  June  2oth,  1628,  with  a  small 
company  of  men  and  a  few  cattle,  and  landed  at 
Naumkeag  on  the  6th  of  September.  He  found  a 
small  company  of  the  old  settlers  on  the  ground. 
The  whole  number,  including  the  new  comers, 
was  between  fifty  and  sixty.  There  was  some 
difficulty  between  the  old  settlers  and  the  new 
Colonists,  which  was  amicably  adjusted,  and  on 
that  account  the  name  of  the  plantation  was 
changed  to  Salem,  which  means  peace.  Endicott 
at  once  made  preparations,  in  accordance  with 
his  instructions,  to  begin  another  plantation  at 
the  place  that  is  now  known  as  Charlestown.1 
The  Colony  at  that  time  was  without  a  minister, 

1  Young's  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  5-16.     Northend's  Ba> 
Colony.     Palfrey,  i.  284-296. 


THE   ROYAL   CHARTER,  7 1 

as  Mr.  Lyford  had  departed  for  Virginia,  but 
religious  services  were  probably  held  under  the 
forms  of  the  Church  of  England. 

In  the  mean  time  the  friends  of  the  enterprise 
were  taking  measures  to  obtain  a  new  charter 
from  the  King,  which  would  strengthen  TheNew 
their  title  to  the  territory,  and  give  charter< 
them  power  to  make  laws  for  their  people  and 
administer  government  in  the  Colony.  They 
had  a  number  of  influential  friends  at  Court, 
among  whom  were  Earl  Warwick  and  Lord 
Dorchester.  They  succeeded  in  obtaining  from 
Charles  a  charter,  which  constituted  them  a  body 
politic  and  corporate,  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Governor  and  Company,  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England."  It  is  dated  March  4th, 
1629.  One  of  those  who  were  active  in  secur- 
ing it  wrote,  a  little  later,  concerning  the  charter, 
that  it  "  was  obtained  from  his  Majesty's  especial 
grace,  with  great  cost,  favor  of  personages  of 
note,  and  much  labor."  1  It  was  granted  at  the 
very  time  when  Charles  was  beginning  the  ex- 
periment of  governing  without  a  Parliament. 

This  charter,  which  is  very  long,  filling  some 
twenty-five  closely  printed  pages,  was  the  funda- 
mental law  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  for 

1  It  is  stated  by  some  authorities  that  the  charter  cost  the  Com- 
pany two  thousand  pounds.  Charles  was  in  great  need  of  money 
at  that  time. 


7 2  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

fifty-five  years.  It  conveyed  to  the  Company  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  all  the  land  between  Charles 
River  and  the  Merrimac,  and  three  miles  north 
of  the  Merrimac,  and  three  miles  south  of  the 
Charles,  from  the  Atlantic  on  the  east  to  the 
South  Sea  on  the  west,  with  the  havens,  ports, 
and  rivers,  and  all  the  islands  on  the  eastern 
or  western  coasts  of  America  lying  within  these 
limits.1  It  gave  to  the  Company  power  to  elect 
its  own  officers,  and  to  make  laws  for  the  good 
of  the  Company,  and  for  the  government  of  the 
people  dwelling  on  its  territory,  provided  the 
laws  were  not  contrary  to  the  laws  of  England. 

The  fact  that  the  Company  had  planted  a 
settlement  in  New  England,  and  that  this  charter 
had  been  secured  from  the  King,  attested  by  the 
Great  Seal  of  England,  gave  a  new  impetus  to 
the  great  Puritan  exodus.  Descriptions  of  the 
new  country  were  circulated  among  the  people, 
and  the  question  of  emigration  was  discussed  in 
every  Puritan  household.  Ships  were  chartered 
by  the  Company  to  transport  a  large  number  of 
emigrants  in  the  spring. 

The  earliest  records  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Company  are  dated  February  23d,  1629.  The 
ship  George  Bonaventure,  of  three  hundred  tons, 
armed  with  twenty  cannon,  sailed  in  April  with 
fifty-two  planters,  provisions,  and  cattle  for  the 

1  For  the  original  charter,  see  Hazard,  i.  239,  or  The  Bay  Colony, 
Northend,  Appendix. 


SETTLEMENT  OF  SALEM.  73 

settlement,  and  arrived  at  Salem  June  22d.  A 
little  later  the  ship  Talbot,  of  three  hundred  tons, 
sailed  with  above  one  hundred  planters,  some 
goats,  and  provisions  for  the  Colony  for  twelve 
months  ;  and  the  Lion's  Whelp  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  tons,  carrying  fifty  planters  with  pro- 
visions. These  reached  Salem  June  29th.  Later 
still,  three  other  ships,  the  Four  Sisters,  the 
Mayflower,  which  had  carried  the  Pilgrims  nine 
years  before,  and  the  Pilgrim,  sailed,  carrying 
planters  and  provisions.  The  records  indicate 
that  during  that  year  the  Company  sent  over 
three  hundred  men,  eighty  women,  and  twenty- 
six  children,  with  a  hundred  and  forty  head  of 
cattle,  forty  goats,  and  with  necessary  apparel, 
provisions,  tools,  and  arms,  including  a  number 
of  pieces  of  ordnance.  The  Company  had  been 
careful  "to  make  plentiful  provision  of  godly 
ministers "  for  the  Colony.  Mr.  Skelton,  Mr. 
Higginsonj  Mr.  Bright,  and  Mr.  Smith  went  in 
the  first  three  vessels. 

They  found  "  about  half  a  score  of  houses,  and 
a  fair  house  newly  built  for  the  Governor." 
There  were  fields  of  corn  that  gave  promise  of 
a  good  harvest.  They  lost  no  time  in  dividing 
their  company  between  Salem  and  Mishawam 
(now  *Charlestown).  Two  thirds  remained  at 
Salem,  and  the  remainder  went  to  Mishawam  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  larger  number  expected 
the  next  year. 


4  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Important  letters  were  sent  to  Endicott,  the 
Governor  of  the  Colony,  notifying  him  that 
Government  of  they  had  confirmed  him  as  Gover- 
the  colony.  nor  of  the  piantation  ;  that  they  had 

joined  with  him  as  a  Council  seven  persons,  who 
might  select  three  others  from  the  men  on  the 
plantation,  or  from  the  new  comers,  and  that 
the  old  planters  might  choose  two.  They 
enjoined  him  to  treat  the  Indians  justly  and 
courteously,  and  to  educate  their  children ;  and 
reminded  him  that  the  main  end  of  the  plantation 
was  to  bring  the  Indians  to  the  better  knowledge 
of  the  Gospel.  They  also  gave  instructions  that 
if  any  of  the  Indians  claimed  title  to  any  of  the 
lands  covered  by  the  patent,  they  should  en- 
deavor to  purchase  their  title,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
least  appearance  of  intrusion.  In  order  that  the 
Sabbath  might  be  celebrated  in  a  religious  man- 
ner, they  directed  that  all  who  inhabit  the  plan- 
tation be  permitted  to  cease  labor  at  three  o'clock 
Saturday  afternoon,  and  that  they  spend  the  rest 
of  that  day  in  catechising,  and  in  preparation  for 
the  Sabbath,  as  the  ministers  shall  direct. 

It  was  provided  in  the  instructions  to  Endicott 
that  each  person  who  transported  himself  and 
his  family  to  the  plantation  should  have  fifty 
acres  of  land,  —  and  more  if  the  Governor  and 
Council  should  deem  it  necessary  in  any  case,  — 
conveyed  to  him  in  the  name  of  the  Company, 


BEGINNING  OF  THE   COLONY.  75 

to  which  the  Seal  of  the  Company  should  be 
affixed ;  fifty  acres  to  each  person  who  was  sent 
over  by  any  adventurer  in  the  common  stock  at 
his  own  charge,  servants  as  well  as  others;  and 
two  hundred  acres  to  each  adventurer  who  had 
contributed  ^"50  to  the  common  stock,  and  at 
the  same  rate  for  additional  contributions.1 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  earliest  Puritan 
Colony.  There  was  no  trace  of  communism  in 
it.  Nor  was  there  any  considerable  democratic 
element.  It  was  at  that  date  a  Colony  governed 
by  a  foreign  corporation,  under  a  charter  from 
the  King  of  England,  which  corporation  had 
power  to  make  laws  for  the  government  of  the 
Colony  without  the  consent  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  Company  had  been  fortunate  in  securing  a 
good  title  to  a  territory  large  enough  to  furnish 
homes  for  the  great  body  of  English  Puritans. 
Each  planter  had  the  opportunity  to  secure  a 
generous  portion  of  land,  to  which  he  could 
secure  a  legal  title.  The  people  were  expected 
to  gain  a  livelihood  by  agricultural  pursuits ;  but 
they  had  an  opportunity  to  supplement  their 
incomes  by  fishing  and  by  trading  with  the  In- 
dians. This  was  the  beginning.  The  state  of  the 
democratic  elements  were  to  come  Colony- 
into  the  government  of  the  Colony  at  a  later 
time.  The  religious  spirit  of  the  Colony  was 

1  Mass.  Colonial  Records,  i.  398. 


76  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

excellent.  Mr.  Higginson  wrote  home :  "  That 
which  is  our  greatest  comfort  and  means  of  de- 
fence above  all  other  is  that  we  have  here  the 
true  religion  and  holy  ordinances  of  Almighty 
God  taught  among  us.  Thanks  be  to  God,  we 
have  here  plenty  of  preaching  and  diligent  cate- 
chising, with  strict  and  careful  exercise,  and 
good  and  commendable  orders  to  bring  our  peo- 
ple into  a  Christian  conversation,  with  whom  we 
have  to  do  withal.  And  thus  we  doubt  not  but 
God  will  be  with  us,  and  if  God  be  with  us  who 
can  be  against  us  ?  "  * 

II 

THE  Governor  of  the  Company  in  England 
wrote  in  his  first  letter  to  Endicott,  that  "  for  the 
The  First  dmrch  propagating  of  the  Gospel, — our  aim 
above  all  things  in  settling  the  plan- 
tation,—  we  have  been  careful  to  make  plentiful 
provision  of  godly  ministers  for  those  of  our 
nation,  and  for  the  Indians."  He  also  informs 
him  that  they  had  joined  three  ministers  with 
him  as  members  of  his  Council,  namely,  Mr. 
Francis  Higginson,  Mr.  Samuel  Skelton,  and  Mr. 
Francis  Bright.2  These  were  all  clergymen  who 
had  been  ordained  in  the  Church  of  England, 

1  Higginson,  New  England  Plantation,  123. 

2  Mass.  Colonial  Records,  i.  37.     March  23,  1628. 


THEIR  MINISTERS.  77 


and  who  had  been  for  years  in  charge  of  parishes. 
Mr.  Bright  soon  returned  to  England,  but  the 
two  others  had  a  very  important  part  in  organiz- 
ing the  churches  of  New  England. 

Mr.  Higginson  was  born  in  1588,  graduated  at 
Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  in  1609  or  1610,  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  1613,  and  was  min- 
ister of  a  parish  in  Leicester  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  gifts,  and  was 
much  beloved  by  his  parishioners.  He  became 
a  Non-Conformist,  and  was  deprived  of  his  parish 
by  the  Bishop.  At  the  time  when  he  was  invited 
by  the  Company  to  join  the  new  Colony  he  was 
expecting  to  be  arrested  and  sent  to  London  for 
his  Non-Conformity.  Although  he  could  not 
conform  to  all  the  requirements  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  he  was  far  from  being  a  Sepa- 
ratist. His  memorable  words,  spoken,  according 
to  Cotton  Mather,  when  the  ship  was  passing 
out  of  sight  of  Land's  End,  show  that  he  re- 
garded the  Church  of  England  as  a  true  church. 
"  We  do  not  go  to  New  England,"  he  said,  "  to 
separate  from  the  Church,  but  only  to  separate 
from  the  corruptions  of  it,  and  to  practise  the 
positive  part  of  church  reformation,  and  to  propa- 
gate the  Gospel  in  America/' 

Mr.  Skelton  was  graduated  at  Clare  Hall, 
Cambridge  in  1611,  and  received  the  degree  of 

1  Mather's  Magnalia,  i.  362. 


78  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

A.  M.  in  1615.  He  was  minister  of  a  parish  in 
Dorsetshire ;  became  a  Non-Conformist  and  was 
deprived  of  his  parish.  Endicott  had  known  him 
in  England,  and  had  "  profited  by  his  ministry." 

We  cannot  be  quite  sure  what  were  the  plans 
of  these  clergymen  in  respect  to  the  beginning  of 
a  church  in  the  new  Colony.  The  letter  of  Gov- 
ernor Cradock  to  Endicott  states  that  they  had 
left  to  the  ministers  whom  they  had  sent  over  the 
decision  as  to  "  the  manner  of  the  exercising  their 
ministry?  We  do  not  know  what  plans  had 
been  formed  by  the  Puritans  before  the  Colony 
was  sent  over,  in  respect  to  a  church  organiza- 
tion. There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  matter 
had  been  very  carefully  considered  for  a  long 
time.  They  were  quite  familiar  with  the  methods 
of  the  Reformed  Churches  in  France  and  Switz- 
erland and  Scotland.  Hutchinson  tells  us  they 
"  consulted  about  settling  a  Reformed  Congrega- 
tion according  to  the  rule  of  the  Gospel,  as  they 
apprehended,  and  the  pattern  of  the  best  Re- 
formed Churches."  1  Their  contention  had  been, 
for  a  long  time,  that  some  things  in  the  Church 
of  England  were  not  according  to  the  New 
Testament,  and  not  favorable  to  the  growth  of 
true  religion.  It  would  have  been  very  incon- 
sistent if  the  Puritans  had  organized  prelatical 
churches  in  the  new  country.  They  must  have 

1  See  in  Mass.  Hist.  Collections,  Series  ii.,  v.  117. 


DR.   SAMUEL  FULLER.  79 

come  to  the  Colony  prepared  to  begin  the  church 
after  a  pattern  such  as  the  larger  number  of  the 
Protestants  of  Europe  had  approved. 

The  ministers  found  on  their  arrival  that  the 
Governor  of  the  Colony,  Mr.  Endicott,  was  al- 
ready prepared  for  such  an  organization.  The 
little  Colony  had  suffered  much  from  sickness 
during  the  winter,  and  they  had  sent  to  Ply- 
mouth and  secured  the  services  of  the  excellent 
physician,  Deacon  Samuel  Fuller  of  the  Pilgrim 
Church.  His  skill  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
diseases  of  the  coast  had  been  of  great  service 
to  the  suffering  Colonists.  He  had  also  given 
Mr.  Endicott  an  account  of  the  organization  of 
the  Pilgrim  Church,  and  of  its  forms  of  worship. 
Mr.  Endicott  accepted  these  as  in  accordance 
with  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament.  He 
tells  us  that  they  were  the  same  which  he  had 
"  preferred  and  maintained  ever  since  the  Lord 
had  revealed  himself  to  him."  l  In  fact,  if  they 
were  to  discard  the  "  Historic  Episcopate,"  the 
question  of  organizing  a  church  was  compara- 
tively simple. 

There  must  have  been  earnest  consultations  at 
Salem  between  the  ministers  and  the  Colonists. 
Morton  tells  us  that  Mr.  Higginson  and  Mr. 
Skelton  consulted  with  Mr.  Endicott,  and  the 
rest  of  the  godly  people  whom  they  found  in- 

1  Bradford's  History,  Legislative  Ed.,  316. 


8o 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


habitants  of  the  place,  and  the  chief  of  the 
passengers  who  came  over  with  them,  "about 
settling  a  Reformed  Congregation" 

The  result  was  that,  about  four  weeks  after  the 
arrival  of  the  new  Colonists,  Governor  Endicott 
appointed  the  2Oth  of  July  as  "a  solemne  day 
of  humiliation  for  ye  choyce  of  a  pastor  and 
teacher."  The  people  came  together  at  that 
time,  and  after  fasting,  prayer,  and  a  sermon, 
they  cast  their  ballots  and  chose  Mr.  Skelton 
to  be  pastor  and  Mr.  Higginson  to  be  teacher. 
Then  Mr.  Skelton  was  solemnly  set  apart  for  his 
office.  Mr.  Higginson  and  three  or  four  of  the 
gravest  members  of  the  church  laid  their  hands 
on  Mr.  Skelton,  and  Mr.  Higginson  prayed. 
Then  the  same  service  was  repeated  for  Mr. 
Higginson,  with  prayer  by  Mr.  Skelton.  These 
things  are  stated  in  a  letter  by  Mr.  Charles  Gott, 
who  was  present,  and  who  was  afterwards  deacon 
of  the  church  in  Salem.2 

A  little  later  the  Governor  appointed  August 
6th  as  another  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  for  the 
election  and  setting  apart  of  elders  and  deacons. 
Mr.  Higginson  had  been  requested  to  draw  up 
a  covenant  for  the  members  of  the  church.  At 
the  appointed  time  he  read  the  covenant  which 
he  had  prepared,  and  it  was  solemnly  assented  to 
by  thirty  members,  and  a  copy  was  given  to  each. 

1  Morton's  Memorial,  97.  2  Bradford's  History,  316. 


THE   CHURCH  IN  SALEM. 


8i 


This  covenant  was  included  in  a  single  sentence, 
as  follows :  — 

"  We  covenant  with  the  Lord,  and  one  with 
another,  and  doe  bynd  our  selves  in  the  presence 
of  God,  to  walk  together  in  all  his  waies,  accord- 
ing as  he  is  pleased  to  reveale  himself  unto  us 
in  his  Blessed  word  of  truth." 

After  the  acceptance  of  this  covenant,  the  two 
ministers  were  again  ordained  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  they  had  been  on  the  2Oth  of  July,  as  was 
also  Mr.  Houghton,  who  had  been  chosen  ruling 
elder.1  Some  of  the  old  writers  state  that  Governor 
Bradford,  coming  by  sea  as  a  representative  of 
the  church  in  Plymouth,  "  gave  them  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship,  wishing  all  prosperity,  and  a 
blessed  success  unto  such  good  beginnings." 2 

The  real  meaning  of  this  action  of  the  Puritans 
at  Salem  was  made  plain  by  a  discussion  which 
began  immediately.     Two  of  the  lead-    significance  of 
ing  men,  who  had  just  come  into  the    tteirActi011- 
Colony   from    England,    took   exception    to   the 
course  that  had  been  followed  by  the  ministers, 
and  by  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
Colony.      Mr.    Samuel    Brown   and    his  brother 
John  were  both  original  members  of  the  Massa- 

1  The  literature  relating  to  their  transactions  is  very  extensive. 
See  Prof.  Walker's  Creeds  and  Platforms  of  Congregationalism, 
93-116.     Northend's  Bay  Colony,  50-52. 

2  Morton's  Memorial,  99.     Goodwin's  Pilgrim  Republic,  325. 

6 


82 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


chusetts  Company,  and  also  members  of  the 
Governor's  Council.  One  was  a  lawyer  and  the 
other  a  merchant.  They  were  men  of  wealth  and 
of  influence,  and  were  disposed  to  push  their  own 
opinions  in  the  plantation.  They  refused  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  organization  of  the  new 
church,  which  they  regarded  as  a  secession  from 
the  National  Church,  and,  gathering  a  company 
of  people  who  were  of  the  same  mind,  they  set 
up  a  separate  congregation  where  worship  was 
conducted  according  to  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer.  They  were  themselves  Non-Conformists, 
but  they  were  not  prepared  to  break  entirely  with 
the  Church  of  England.  When  they  were  brought 
before  the  Governor  to  explain  their  proceedings, 
they  said  that  the  ministers  were  leading  the  peo- 
ple into  extremes,  —  that  they  had  already  become 
"Separatists  and  would  be  Anabaptists."  To  this 
the  ministers  replied  very  plainly,  that  they  were 
neither  Separatists  nor  Anabaptists;  that  they 
did  not  separate  from  the  Church  of  England  nor 
from  the  ordinances  of  God  there,  but  only  from 
the  corruptions  and  disorders  there;  that  they 
came  away  from  the  Common  Prayer  and  cere- 
V  monies,  and  had  suffered  much  for  their  Non- 
"-Conformity  in  their  native  land,  and  therefore, 
being  in  a  place  where  they  might  have  their 
liberty,  they  neither  could  nor  would  use  them, 
because  they  judged  the  imposition  of  these 


THE  FREE   CHURCHES.  83 

things  to  be  sinful  corruptions  of  the  worship 
of  God."1 

This  disagreement  was  a  serious  matter  for 
the  infant  Colony.  Endicott  had  written  instruc- 
tions from  the  Company  that  persons  not  "  con- 
formable to  their  government  be  not  permitted 
to  remain  within  the  limits  of  their  grant."  He 
called  the  Browns  to  account  for  what  he  termed 
their  "seditious  "  proceedings,  and,  finding  that 
they  were  likely  to  cause  serious  trouble  in  the 
Colony,  he  told  them  that  "  New  England  was 
no  place  for  such  as  they,"  and  sent  them  back 
to  England.  This  seems  to  have  been  done  on 
the  principle  that  the  corporate  body  owned  the 
territory,  and  that  as  the  owners  they  had  a  right 
to  send  out  of  their  bounds  all  such  persons  as 
were  likely  to  cause  them  trouble  or  loss. 

The  new  churches  that  were  planted  in  the 
Puritan  Colonies  followed  the  same  principles 
that  had  guided  the  church  in  Salem.  They  were 
free  churches.  In  respect  to  their  organization 
and  the  methods  of  administration,  they  were 
like  the  Pilgrim  Church  at  Plymouth.  They 
emphasized  the  local  church  as  a  body  made 
up  of  believers,  bound  together  by  a  covenant 
for  Christian  worship  and  service.  But  these 
churches  claimed  very  positively  that  they  were 
not  "  Separatist "  churches.  This  statement  was 

1  Morton's  Memorial,  100,  101. 


84 


THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


made  not  only  at  the  time,  but  by  their  leading 
men  in  subsequent  years.  When  Roger  Williams 
came  into  the  Colony,  he  objected  to  the  churches 
because  they  were  not  Separatist  churches.  He 
would  not  commune  with  them  because  they  rec- 
ognized the  Church  of  England  as  a  true  church. 
John  Cotton,  in  his  work  entitled  "  The  Way 
of  the  Churches  Cleared,"  published  in  1648, 
states  explicitly,  that  we  do  not  deny  "  that  the 
parochial  Congregations  in  England  are  true 

Ohurches.     Our  separation  from   them  is  not  a 
sparation  from  them  as  no  churches,  but  rather 
separation  from  the  corruptions  found  among 
hem."1 

The  action  of  the  people  of  the  Colony  in 
establishing  churches  that  were  not  under  the 
control  of  the  Church  of  England  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  understanding  at  the  time  they 
received  their  charter.  It  was  well  known  that 
those  who  were  seeking  to  establish  a  settlement 
in  New  England  were  Non-Conformists,  and  that 
it  was  their  purpose  to  establish  a  colony  where 
they  could  worship  God  in  accordance  with  the 

1  See  Cotton's  Way  of  the  Churches  Cleared,  chap.  iii.  sect.  3. 
Also  pp.  14-16.  He  denies  that  Independency  is  a  fit  name  for  our 
churches.  •'  Sure  I  am,"  he  says,  "that  Mr.  Skelton,  their  pastor, 
was  studious  of  that  way  before  he  left  Holland  in  Lincolnshire. 
...  He  is  much  mistaken  who  saith  the  Congregation  of  Plymouth 
did  leaven  all  the  vicinity.  .  .  .  Those  who  came  over  were  not  such 
as  would  be  leavened  by  vicinity  of  neighbors." 


TRANSFER   OF  THE   CHARTER.  85 

dictates  of  their  own  consciences.  Governor 
Winthrop  states  that,  at  a  hearing  before  the  King 
and  his  Council  in  1633,  the  agents  of  the  Coun- 
cil were  told  that  "  His  Majesty  did  not  intend 
to  impose  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land upon  us,  for  that  it  was  considered  that  it 
was  the  freedom  from  such  things  that  made 
people  come  over  to  us."1  In  all  the  com- 
plaints that  were  afterward  made  against  the 
Colony,  it  was  never  alleged  that  the  establishing 
of  churches  without  Episcopal  supervision  was 
inconsistent  with  the  understanding  on  which 
the  charter  was  given. 


Ill 

IN  the  summer  of  1629  the  General  Court  of 
the  Company  was  considering  a  proposition  to 
transfer  the  government  of  the  Col-  „ 

&  Transfer  of  the 

ony  to  New  England.  The  plan  was  company  to  New 
brought  forward  by  Governor  Cra- 
dock  at  a  meeting  on  the  i3th  of  May,  and  it  was 
further  discussed  at  meetings  held  in  August  and 
September.  A  committee  was  chosen  to  take 
the  advice  of  counsel  as  to  the  right  of  the  Com- 
pany to  transfer  its  charter  to  New  England.  In 
the  charters  of  all  similar  companies  prior  to 

1  Winthrop,  i.  103.    Young's   Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  295 
Northend's  Bay  Colony,  53-55. 


86 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


that  of  Massachusetts,  it  had  been  stipulated  that 
the  chief  government  should  remain  in  England. 
But  in  the  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony 
there  was  no  such  stipulation.  Those  who  held 
the  charter  found  that  some  of  the  leading  men 
among  the  Puritans  were  not  willing  to  enter  a 
Colony  that  was  to  be  under  the  government  of 
a  corporation  beyond  the  sea.  They  claimed 
that  the  Puritan  Colony  should  be  self-govern- 
ing. The  future  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
Colony  were  believed  to  depend  upon  the  de- 
cision of  the  question  concerning  the  removal  of 
the  government  to  the  Colony  itself. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  a  memorable  meeting 
was  held  at  Cambridge  by  a  number  of  leading 
Puritans  who  were  considering  the  question  of 
a  removal  to  New  England.  Among  them  were 
Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  John  Winthrop^  Isaac 
Johnson,  Thomas  Dudley,  John  Humphrey,  Wil- 
liam Pynchon,  Increase  Nowell,  Thomas  Sharp, 
The  Meeting  at  and  William  Vassall.  The  result  of 
Cambridge.  fafe  meeting  was  that  twelve  gentle- 
men, including  all  those  named  above,  signed  an 
agreement  to  embark  with  their  families  for  the 
plantation  in  New  England  by  the  first  of  March 
next,  provided  "  that  before  the  last  of  September 
next,  the  whole  Government,  together  with  the 
patent  for  the  said  Plantation,  be  first,  by  an 
order  of  Court,  legally  transferred  and  estab- 


JOHN  WINTHROP  GOVERNOR.  87 

lished  to  remain  with  us,  and  others  which  shall 
inhabit  upon  the  said  plantation." 

The  General  Court  finally  decided  to  transfer 
the  government  to  New  England.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  October  2oth,  1629,  Governor  Cradock 
having  resigned  his  office,  John  Winthrop  was 
elected  Governor,  and  thereupon  he  accepted  and 
took  the  oath  to  that  place  appertaining.  John 
Humphrey  was  chosen  Deputy  Governor,  and 
Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  Isaac  Johnson,  Thomas 
Dudley,  John  Endicott,  Increase  Nowell,  William 
Vassall,  William  Pynchon,  Samuel  Sharp,  Edward 
Rossiter,  Thomas  Sharp,  John  Revell,  Matthew 
Cradock,  Thomas  Goffe,  Samuel  Aldersey,  John 
Venn,  Nathaniel  Wright,  Theophilus  Eaton,  and 
Thomas  Adams  were  chosen  Assistants.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  members  of  the  Company  who 
were  to  remain  in  England  should  have  a  share 
in  the  profits  of  the  trading  stock  for  the  term 
of  seven  years,  and  the  management  of  the  stock 
was  intrusted  to  ten  gentlemen,  five  of  whom 
were  to  remain  in  England,  and  five  to  go  to 
New  England.1 

These  events  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the 
plans  for  a  removal  to  New  England.  The  far- 
reaching  plans  of  the  leaders  of  the  enterprise  had 
been  successful,  and  a  large  number  of  the  best 

1  Colonial  Records,  i.  49.  Hubbard,  chap,  xviii.  Hutchinson's 
Collections,  25,  26. 


88 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


people  of  England  were  ready  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  advantages  of  the  liberal  charter,  and  to 
follow  the  well  known  leaders  to  the  Bay  Colony. 
The  emigration  was  on  a  scale  beyond  any  simi- 
lar movement  in  England  before.  "  The  prin- 
cipal planters  of  Massachusetts,"  according  to 
the  testimony  of  one  of  their  opponents,  "  were 
English  country  gentlemen  of  no  inconsiderable 
fortunes,  of  enlarged  understandings,  improved 
by  liberal  education."1  They  came  from  every 
part  of  England,  but  a  large  majority  were  from 
the  eastern  counties.  "  It  was  not  by  accident," 
says  Mr.  John  Fiske,  "  that  the  earliest  counties 
of  Massachusetts  were  called  Norfolk,  Suffolk, 
and  Essex,  or  that  Boston  in  Lincolnshire  gave 
its  name  to  the  capital." 

John  Winthrop,  the  Governor,  was  born  in 
Groton,  Suffolk,  in  1587,  was  a  student  for  two 
years  at  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  was 
bred  to  the  law.  His  father  and  grandfather 
were  lawyers.  He  was  a  man  of  great  ability, 
and  of  wide  influence  in  England,  and  had  an 
income  of  six  or  seven  hundred  pounds  a  year, 
equal  to  two  thousand  pounds  at  this  time. 
John  Humphrey,  the  Deputy  Governor,  was  a 
man  of  learning,  activity,  and  piety,  and  had 
been  the  familiar  companion  of  the  patriotic 
noblemen  of  the  time.  Thomas  Dudley,  who 

1  Chalmers's  History  of  the  Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies,  i.  58. 


THE  LEADERS  OF  THE   COLONY.  89 

was  of  a  very  different  type  from  the  suave  and 
charitable  Winthrop,  came  of  an  ancient  family, 
and  brought  to  the  service  of  the  Colony  a  mind 
trained  in  active  life,  full  of  energy  and  courage. 
Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  of  Yorkshire  was  a  gen- 
erous contributor  to  the  Colony.  Isaac  Johnson, 
a  son  in  law  of  Lord  Lincoln,  was  an  extensive 
landowner,  and  was  esteemed  the  richest  of  the 
emigrants.  Theophilus  Eaton  was  a  merchant 
in  London,  and  had  been  Minister  of  Charles 
the  First  to  Denmark.  Simon  Bradstreet,the  son 
of  a  clergyman,  had  studied  at  Cambridge,  and 
inherited  a  fine  estate  in  Suffolkshire.  These 
men  represented  that  which  was  the  best  and 
most  progressive  in  England  at  that  time.  And 
those  were  the  times  of  Lord  Bacon,  and  Sidney, 
and  Shakespeare,  and  Milton.  The  mind  of  the 
nation  had  been  awakened  from  its'  lethargy,  and 
it  was  evident  that  a  new  era  of  progress  was  at 
hand. 

Governor  Winthrop,  Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Salton- 
stall, Mr.  Dudley,  Mr.  Phillips,  and  Mr.  Codding- 
ton  sailed  on  the  8th  of  April  from  Yarmouth  on 
the  Arabella,  and  arrived  at  Salem  on  the  1 2th 
of  June,  having  in  their  possession  the  charter  of 
the  Company.  On  leaving  England  they  issued 
a  printed  address  to  "  their  Brethren  of  the 
Church  of  England,"  which  they  speak  of  as  their 
dear  mother.  They  express  much  affection  for 


9O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

their  native  land  which  they  are  leaving,  and 
ask  their  brethren  to  pray  for  them  without 
ceasing,  "  making  continual  requests  for  us  to 
God  in  all  your  prayers." 

Sixteen  other  vessels  went  with  them  to  Massa- 
chusetts during  the  year,  carrying  not  less  than 
one  thousand  persons,  with  sixty  horses,  two 
hundred  and  forty  cows,  a  large  supply  of  pro- 
visions, stores,  and  goods  of  various  kinds  for 
trading  with  the  Indians.  Some  of  the  ships 
landed  at  Salem,  some  at  Charlestown. 

The  condition  of  the  Colony  on  their  arrival 
was  discouraging.  More  than  a  quarter  of  those 
who  had  come  over  a  year  before  had  died,  and 
many  of  the  survivors  were  sick.  The  supply  of 
provisions  was  small.  They  had  not  enough 
corn  to  last  a  fortnight  when  the  fleet  arrived. 
A  portion  of  the  provisions  of  the  new  comers 
had  spoiled  on  the  passage.  By  mistake,  some 
provisions  designed  for  the  Colony  had  not  been 
shipped.  The  supplies  were  so  limited  that  they 
were  obliged  to  discharge  from  their  indentures  a 
large  number  of  servants  who  had  been  sent  over 
during  the  two  years  preceding. 

Governor  Winthrop  lost  no  time  in  making 
arrangements  for  distributing  among  the  differ- 
ent plantations  the  large  number  of  Colonists 
who  had  just  arrived.  He  went  to  Charlestown, 
where  was  already  a  considerable  settlement, 


SETTLEMENT  OF  BOSTON.  9 1 

and  to  Medford  and  Boston.  A  good  many  of 
the  new  comers  were  soon  settled  at  Charles- 
town.  The  Governor  with  some  of  the  Assist- 
ants took  possession  of  the  "  great  house  "  which 
had  already  been  erected  for  them.  In  August, 
Mr.  Johnson,  one  of  the  Assistants,  settled  in 
Boston,  where  he  found  a  good  supply  of  whole- 
some water.  On  that  account  Governor  Win- 
throp,  took  over  the  frame  of  a  house  which  he 
had  constructed  at  Charlestown,  and  late  in  the 
autumn  Winthrop,  Dudley,  and  some  other  leaders 
of  the  Colony  erected  cottages  there.  Sir  Rich- 
ard Saltonstall  with  a  company  of  his  friends 
settled  at  Watertown,  with  Mr.  George  Phillips 
as  their  minister.  Mr.  Pynchon  with  a  party  of 
his  friends  settled  in  Roxbury,  and  another  party 
settled  at  Matapan,  now  Dorchester.  Mr.  Cra- 
dock  began  a  plantation  at  Medford,  and  a  few 
families  settled  at  Saugus.  Before  the  winter 
eight  plantations  had  been  commenced,  namely, 
Salem,  Charlestown,  Boston,  Matapan,  Watertown, 
Roxbury,  Medford,  and  Saugus. 

The  rude  habitations  which  the  Colonists  were 
able  to  erect  were  a  poor  substitute  for  the  com- 
fortable homes  they  had  left  in  England.  "  They 
lived  many  of  them  in  tents  and  wigwams  at 
Charlestown,"  says  one  of  the  old  writers ;  "  their 
meeting  place  being  abroad,  under  a  tree,  where 
I  have  heard  Mr.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Phillips  preach 


9  2  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

many  a  good  sermon."1  Deputy  Governor  Dudley 
wrote,  "  I  have  no  table,  or  other  room  to  write 
in  than  by  the  fireside  upon  my  knee  in  this 
sharp  winter ;  to  which  my  family  must  have 
leave  to  resort,  though  they  break  good  manners, 
and  make  me  many  times  forget  what  I  would 
say,  and  say  what  I  would  not." 2 

Many  of  the  Colonists  were  sick  of  scurvy  and 
of  fever  contracted  on  the  voyage.  Many  died 
soon  after  their  arrival.  There  was  great  suffer- 
ing from  exposure  to  the  weather,  and  before 
December  two  hundred  of  the  new  comers  had 
died.  Among  the  first  of  these  were  Mr.  Isaac 
Johnson,  one  of  the  Assistants,  and  his  wife,  the 
Lady  Arabella.  In  November  they  succeeded 
in  buying  a  hundred  bushels  of  corn  from  the 
Indians  on  Cape  Cod.  In  August,  Governor 
Winthrop  had  sent  the  ship  Lion  to  the  nearest 
port  in  Ireland  or  England  for  provisions.  This 
ship  returned  the  5th  of  February  loaded  with 
provisions,  at  a  time  when  the  inhabitants  were 
subsisting  on  clams  and  mussels,  and  on  bread 
made  from  ground  nuts  and  acorns.  When  the 
ship  arrived,  the  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  which 
had  been  appointed  for  the  6th  of  February  was 
changed  to  a  day  of  Thanksgiving,  and  this  day 
was  observed  the  22d  of  February. 

1  Clap's  Memoirs.     Young's  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  351. 

2  Young's  Chronicles  of  Massachusetts,  303. 


THE  EARLY  CHURCHES.  93 

The  great  suffering  of  that  first  winter,  and 
the  large  number  of  deaths,  caused  some  of  the 
Colonists  to  lose  hope.  When  the  vessels  went 
back  to  England  about  one  hundred  of  the 
people  went  back.  Mr.  Bright,  the  minister  at 
Charlestown,  and  Mr.  Vassall,  one  of  the  Assist- 
ants, were  among  those  who  returned.  But  the 
great  body  of  the  people  remained,  and  bore  with 
wonderful  fortitude  the  hard  experiences  of  the 
earlier  years,  determined  to  work  out  the  diffi- 
cult problems  connected  with  the  new  Colony. 


IV 

AMONG,  the  first  things  which  the  Puritan 
leaders  provided  for  was  the  support  of  ministers 
for  the  people,  and  the  gathering  of  ineEany 
churches.  At  the  first  meeting  of  chttrches- 
the  Court  of  Assistants,  held  at  Charlestown,  it 
was  voted  that  houses  be  built  for  Mr.  Wilson 
and  Mr.  Phillips,  at  the  public  charge,  with  con- 
venient speed.  It  was  also  voted  that  Mr. 
Phillips  "  should  have,  for  his  maintenance,  three 
hogsheads  of  meal,  one  of  malt,  four  bushels  of 
Indian  corn,  one  of  oatmeal,  one  half  a  hundred 
pounds  of  salt  fish ;  and  for  apparel  and  other 
provisions,  twenty  pounds :  or  if  he  preferred  to 
be  paid  in  money,  he  should  have  forty  pounds 
per  annum,  and  find  his  own  provisions."  It 


94  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

was  also  ordered  that  "  Mr.  Wilson  should  have 
twenty  pounds  per  annum  till  his  wife  came 
over."  All  these  were  to  be  a  common  charge 
upon  the  Colony,  those  at  Salem  and  Matapan 
excepted,  because  they  had  their  own  ministers 
to  support.  Provision  was  also  made  at  that 
time  for  Mr.  Gager,  a  physician,  at  the  public 
charge,  and  for  James  Penn,  beadle,  who  was  to 
wait  upon  the  Governor,  and  to  execute  his 
commands.1 

The  first  Puritan  church  to  be  formed  after 
the  one  at  Salem  was  organized  in  England. 
The  method  of  organization  is  full  of  historical 
significance.  It  was  made  up  from  a  company 
gathered  by  that  energetic  Non-Conformist  minis- 
ter, the  excellent  John  White  of  Dorchester,  Eng- 
land. The  people  came  from  the  counties  of 
Devon,  Dorset,  and  Somerset,  in  1629  ancT  1630. 
They  assembled  at  the  New  Hospital  at  Ply- 
mouth, England,  just  as  they  were  ready  to  sail. 
An  old  writer  tells  us :  — 

"These  godly  people  resolved  to  live  together;  and 
therefore,  as  they  had  made  choice  of  those  reverend 
Servants  of  God,  Mr.  John  Wareham  and  Mr.  John 
Maverick,  to  be  their  ministers,  so  they  kept  a  solemn 
Day  of  fasting  in  the  New  Hospital  in  Plymouth,  in 
England,  spending  it  in  Preaching  and  in  Praying: 
where  that  worthy  man  of  God,  Mr.  John  White  of 
Dorchester  in  Dorset  was  present,  and  Preached  unto 

1  Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  i.  73,  74. 


THE   CHURCH  IN  DORCHESTER.  95 

us  the  Word  of  God  in  the  forepart  of  the  Day ;  and  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  Day,  as  the  people  did  solemnly 
make  Choice  of,  and  call  these  godly  Ministers  to  be 
their  Officers,  so  also  the  Revd.  Mr.  Wareham  and  Mr. 
Maverick  did  accept  thereof,  and  expressed  the  same." l 

It  is  uncertain  whether  there  was  a  formal  or- 
dination, by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  of  these  min- 
isters. We  do  not  certainly  know  whether  the 
members  of  the  church  gave  their  assent  to  a 
covenant  at  that  time.  There  is  a  conflict  in  the 
testimony  that  has  come  down  to  us.  Roger 
Clap,  who  has  given  the  most  definite  account  of 
what  was  done,  was  admitted  into  fellowship  with 
this  church  on  their  arrival  in  New  England. 
This  implies  that  their  organization  was  already 
a  complete  one. 

This  whole  transaction  shows  what  views  the 
Puritan  Non-Conformists  in  England  had  adopted 
in  respect  to  the  essentials  of  a  Christian  church. 
John  White  was  a  fair  representative  of  them. 
Evidently  they  were  not  in  favor  of  the  trans- 
fer to  New  England  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
In  the  Mother  Country  they  remained  in  that 
church,  but  they  did  not  regard  prelacy  as  es- 
sential to  a  true  church.  On  the  other  hand,  they 
were  not  Separatists,  as  the  people  at  Plymouth 
were.  And  yet,  when  they  came  into  the  new 

1  Roger  Clap's  Memoirs,  39.   Young's  Chronicles  of  Mass.,  346- 
367.     See  also  Prof.  Walker's  Creeds  and  Platforms,  149,  150. 


96  THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Colonies,  they  organized  their  churches  in  much 
the  same  way  as  the  Pilgrims  had  done.  The 
Dorchester  church,  which  was  formed  at  the  New 
Hospital  in  Plymouth,  England,  was  very  much 
like  the  church  that  had  been  formed  at  Salem 
the  year  before. 

The  third  and  fourth  Puritan  churches  were 
organized  in  Charlestown  and  Watertown  on  the 
churches  at  3oth  of  July,  1 630.*  Only  four  per- 
chariestown  and  sons  united  to  form  the  church  in 
Charlestown  ;  namely,  Governor  Win- 
throp,  Isaac  Johnson,  Thomas  Dudley,  and  John 
Wilson.  Five  others  were  admitted  to  fellowship 
a  few  days  later,  and  others  in  rapid  succession. 
This  process  indicates  the  care  that  was  taken  to 
make  up  the  church  of  those  who  were  esteemed 
fit  for  membership.  It  was  almost  a  month  later 
when  the  church  observed  another  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer,  and  at  that  time  selected  John  Wil- 
son, teacher,  Increase  Nowell,  ruling  elder,  and 
William  Gager  and  William  A  spin  wall,  deacons. 
These  officers  were  then  installed  by  the  laying 
on  of  hands.  It  was  expressly  stated  in  the  case 
of  Mr.  Wilson,  that  the  act  of  ordination  was  to 
be  understood  only  as  his  consecration  to  the 
service  to  which  he  was  now  called,  and  not  as  a 
denial  of  the  validity  of  his  Episcopal  ordination 
in  England.2  In  forming  this  church  the  advice 

1  Mather's  Magnalia,  i.  377.  2  Winthrop,  i.  32,  33. 


THE   CHURCH  IN  CHARLESTOWN.  97 

and  counsel  of  the  Pilgrim  Church  at  Plymouth 
was  sought,  and  was  freely  given. 

The  Covenant  of  the  Church  in  Charlestown 
was  as  follows:  — 

"  In  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  &  in  obedi- 
ence to  His  holy  will  &  Divine  Ordinance : 

"  Wee  whose  names  are  hereunder  written,  being  by 
His  most  wise  &  good  Providence  brought  together  into 
this  part  of  America  in  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts,  and 
desirous  to  unite  our  selves  into  one  Congregation  or 
Church,  Vnder  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  our  Head,  in  such 
sort  as  becometh  all  those  whom  He  hath  Redeemed,  & 
Sanctified  to  Himselfe,  do  hereby  Solemnly  and  reli- 
giously (as  in  His  most  holy  Presence),  Promise  &  bind 
ourselves  to  walk  in  all  our  wayes  according  to  the  Rule 
of  the  Gospell,  &  in  all  sincere  conformity  to  His  holy 
Ordinances,  &  in  mutual  love,  &  respect  each  for  other, 
so  neere  as  God  shall  give  vs  grace." l 

Not  long  after  the  organization  of  this  church 
Mr.  Wilson  and  a  number  of  the  prominent 
members  removed  to  Boston,  and  the  church  be- 
came the  First  Church  of  Boston.  At  a  later 
time  the  people  of  Charlestown  formed  themselves 
into  a  church  by  a  mutual  covenant.  On  the  3Oth 
of  July  the  good  people  of  Watertown  also  en- 
tered into  a  covenant,  which  is  preserved  in  the 
pages  of  Cotton  Mather.2  It  is  longer  than  the 
covenant  of  the  churches  of  Salem,  or  Dorches- 

1  History  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston,  A.  B.  Ellis,  3. 

2  Magnalia,  i.  377. 

7 


98 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


ter,  or  Charlestown,  but  is  made  up  of  the  same 
elements. 

This  is  sufficient  to  show  how  the  Puritan 
Churches  in  New  England  were  formed.  Their 
members  had  been  members  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  in  England.  Their  ministers,  almost 
without  exception,  had  been  educated  in  the 
English  Universities,  and  had  been  ordained 
by  the  Bishops  and  Presbyters  of  that  Church. 
They  had  the  learning  and  the  manners  of  Eng- 
lish clergymen.  They  did  not  believe,  however, 
that  the  orders  or  the  services  of  that  Church 
were  the  only  ones  that  had  any  validity.  The 
essential  thing  in  a  church,  in  their  opinion,  was 
a  company  of  believers,  associated  together  by  a 
mutual  covenant,  living  in  Christian  love  and 
fellowship  with  each  other,  and  with  all  other 
Christians,  and  observing  the  ordinances  ^which 
are  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament.  The  Puri- 
tans formed  free  churches  in  their  Colonies,  ac- 
cording to  a  very  simple  pattern,  and  these  free 
churches,  after  an  experience  of  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  are  still  lights  in  the 
world,  sending  out  Christian  influences  in  all 
the  earth,  working  zealously,  in  connection  with 
Christians  in  other  communions,  in  the  service  of 
the  Master,  for  the  redemption  of  all  the  nations 
of  men. 


OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  99 


WE  are  next  to  trace  the  plans  of  the  Puritan 
Colonists  in  providing  for  the  social  and  eco- 
nomic, and  jjoHticaUife  of  the  people.  Variety  ^g 
The  large  number  of  Englishmen  ^colonists. 
who  came  into  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  the  earlier  years  were  frpm_  different  callings 
and  occupations  in  life.  There  was  an  unusually 
large  proportion  of  University  men.  Governor 
Winthrop  and  some  of  his  associates  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  were  lawyers.  William  Gager  was  not 
the  only  physician  among  them.  By  the  end  of 
1630  there  were  seven  or  eight  clergymen  in  the 
Colony.  There  were  a  number  of  merchants 
who  brought  into  the  new  country  considerable 
wealth.  These  men  were  able,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  to  develop  profitable  business  enter- 
prises, by  the  fisheries  and  the  fur  trade  with  the 
Indians,  and  by  trade  with  their  own  people. 
The  lajgest  number  of  the  pioneers  were  farm- 
ers,  who  availed  themselves  of  the  proposals  of 
the  Company  and  became  the  owners  of  land  in 
the  different  plantations.  These  men  were  able 
within  a  few  years  to  erect  comfortable  dwellings 
in  the  midst  of  fruitful  fields  and  orchards,  that 
brought  them  an  ample  support.  Many  of  the  Col- 
onists brought  with- them  servants  whose  passage 
they  had  paid,  and  for  whose  support  they  were 


IOO  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

responsible.  These  servants  bound  themselves 
to  repay  them  by  their  labor.  The  first  Colonists 
also  brought  with  them  horses  and  cattle  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  and  goats  and  sheep,  and  such  tools  as 
were  needed  for  building  and  fishing  and  farming. 
The  Colonists  were  characterized  from  the  first 
by  habits  of  industry  and  frugality,  as  well  as  by 
energy  and  thrift. 

We  have  already  seen  that  it  was  the  policy 
of  the  Massachusetts  Company  to  encourage  the 
owners  of  the  settlers  to  gain  a  title  to  the  land 
SoU'  which  they  cultivated.1  There  was 

at  one  time  a  probability  that  some  families  of 
the  English  nobility  would  come  to  New  Eng- 
land, and  would  become  owners  of  large  tracts 
of  land,  and  lay  the  foundation  for  a  land  system 
like  that  of  Great  Britain.  Formal  inquiries 
were  made  as  to  whether  they  could  have  cer- 
tain hereditary  rights,  which  would  secure  to 
them  a  share  in  the  government  similar  to  that 
of  the  English  peers.2  All  such  proposals  were 
declined  in  courteous  though  decided  terms,  be- 
cause they  were  not  in  harmony  with  the  best 
aspirations  of  the  people  who  had  crossed  the 
sea  to  lay  the  foundations  for  a  new  England. 
The  free  democratic^ principle  was  continually 

1  Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts,  i.  398. 

2  Winthrop,  i.   135-137.      Hutchinson's   History,  i.  433,  490. 
Palfrey,  i.  390.     Edmund  Burke,  ii.  145. 


COLONIAL   GOVERNMENT.  IOI 

asserting  itself.  No  hereditary  privileges  could 
be  conceded  even  to  such  generous  friends  and 
patrons  as  Lord  Say  and  Sele,  Lord  Brook,  and 
the  other  "persons  of  quality"  who  united  with 
them  in  their  proposals.  The  right  to  own  the 
land  which  they  cultivated  was  secured  to  the 
Colonists  in  the  early  years. 

The  Colonial  government  at  first  had  few  of 
the  elements  of  a  democracy.     In  the  beginning 
the    Corporation,   which    owned    the     The  colonial 
territory,  and  which  had  the  right  to     ^^r^^- 
make  laws  for  the  people,  was  a  foreign  body, 
holding  its  meetings  in    England.      The   trans- 
fer  of  the   charter   to    New    England   prepared 
the  way  for  the  people  to  gain   a  share  in  the 
government. 

The  first  session  in  New  England  of  the 
"  General  Court  of  the  Company  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay"  was  held  in  Boston,  October  iQth, 
1630.  This  General  Court  consisted  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, Deputy  Governor,  and  eighteen  Assist- 
ants, and  of  such  freemen  as  they  had  chosen. 
There  was  at  that  time  no  representation  from 
the  people  of  the  Colony,  and  yet  the  General 
Court  had  power  to  enact  such  laws  First  Meeting  of 
as  they  should  think  proper  for  the  the  General  court 

*  i  in  New  England. 

people   inhabiting   the    Colony,    pro- 
vided the  laws  were  not  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
England.     At  this  first  meeting  of  the  General 


IO2  THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Court,  one  hundred  and  nine  persons  applied  for 
admission  as  freemen.  This  admission  would 
make  them  members  of  the  Company,  and  en- 
title them  to  vote  at  all  elections  of  officers,  and 
on  all  proposals  for  the  enactment  of  laws.  This 
number  must  have  included  a  large  proportion 
of  the  adult  males  of  the  Colony.  Had  this 
application  been  granted,  it  would  have  brought 
the  government  of  the  Colony  under  the  control 
of  those  who  desired  to  become  freemen.  But 
the  officials  had  too  little  confidence  in  the  peo- 
ple to  grant  the  application.  They  did  not  think 
it  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the  Colony  that 
the  election  of  officers  and  the  enactment  of  laws 
should  be  confided  to  inexperienced  men.  And 
yet  they  could  not  well  refuse  to  admit  the  peo- 
ple to  some  share  in  the  government.  The  Gen- 
eral Court  decided,  on  this  account,  to  lessen 
the  power  of  those  who  should  be  admitted  as 
freemen.  They  voted  that  the  election  of  Gov- 
ernor and  Deputy  Governor  should  be  by  the 
Assistants,  and  not  by  the  freemen ;  that  the 
power  of  making  laws  and  choosing  officers  to 
execute  the  same  should  be  limited  to  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Deputy  Governor  with  the  Assistants. 
They  granted  to  the  freemen  the  power  of  elect- 
ing Assistants  whenever  there  should  be  a  vacancy 
in  the  board.  At  the  annual  meeting  of  the 
General  Court,  held  at  Boston,  the  i8th  of  May, 


RELIGIOUS   TEST.  IC>3 


1631,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  persons,  including 
most  of  those  who  had  applied  in  October,  were 
admitted  as  freemen  in  the  Company,  on  taking 
the  prescribed  oath.  It  was  ordered  at  that  time 
by  the  General  Court,  that  once  a  year  at  least 
there  should  be  a  session  of  the  General  Court 
for  the  election  of  officers  and  for  other  purposes. 
At  this  annual  session  "the  commons"  (that  is, 
the  freemen)  could  nominate  any  person  or  per- 
sons whom  they  should  choose  for  the  office  of 
Assistant,  provided  there  were  any  vacancies  in 
that  body.  The  Commons  could  also  express 
their  desire  for  the  removal  of  one  or  more  of 
the  Assistants,  "for  any  defect  or  misbehav- 


iour." 


These  orders  were  designed  to  make  the  office 
of  Assistant  a  permanent  office,  unless  the  occu- 
pant should  be  removed  by  the  freemen  for  defect 
or  misbehavior.  It  was  also  ordered  by  the 
General  Court  at  that  time,  that  for  the  time  to 
come  no  man  should  be  admitted  to  be  a  free- 
man but  such  as  are  members  of  some  of  the 
churches  within  the  limits  of  the  Colony.  At 
that  session  of  the  General  Court,  Winthrop 
was  re-elected  to  the  office  of  Governor,  and 
Dudley  to  that  of  Deputy  Governor.1 

But  the  action  which  had  been  taken  by  the 
General  Court  restricting  the  rights  of  the  free- 

1  See  Massachusetts  Records,  i.  79-87. 


IO4  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

men  in  the  election  of  Governor  and  Assistants 
was  looked  upon  by  the  people  as  an  assumption 
of  power.  It  was  plainly  in  conflict  with  the 
charter,  and  public  opinion  in  the  Colony  was 
decidedly  favorable  to  the  right  of  the  people  to 
a  generous  share  in  the  government.  At  the  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Court  in  May,  1632,  it  was 
ordered  that  the  election  of  Governor,  Deputy 
Governor,  and  Assistants  shall  be  by  the  whole 
court,  consisting  of  all  the  freemen,  as  well  as  of 
the  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  and  Assistants, 
and  that  the  Governor  shall  always  be  chosen  out 
of  the  Assistants.1  This  was  a  very  large  conces- 
sion to  the  people.  From  that  time  they  had  a 
large  and  increasing  share  in  the  government  of 
the  Colony. 

It  was  provided  in  the  charter  that  the  Court 
of  Assistants,  with  the  Governor,  may  hold  meet- 
ings once  a  month  for  such  business  relating  to 
the  Colony  as  may  require  to  be  done.  This  pro- 
vision resulted  in  a  great  increase  in  the  power 
of  the  Assistants.  Most  of  the  judicial  functions 
rested  in  them,  and  they  were  called  "  the  magis- 
trates." They  appointed  justices  of  the  peace 
with  powers  like  those  of  such  officers  in  Eng- 
land. They  levied  taxes,  appropriated  money, 
tried  suits,  punished  offenders,  and  framed  laws 
for  the  Colony.  They  assumed  to  be  an  es- 

1  Massachusetts  Records,  i.  95. 


DEALINGS   WITH   THE  INDIANS.  IC>5 

tate    above   the   freemen,   who    were   called   the 
Commons. 

The  question  of  the  right  of  the  Court  of  As- 
sistants to  levy  taxes  without  the  consent  of  the 
people  was  raised  in  the  early  years  of  the  Col- 
ony. In  consequence  of  the  representations  of 
the  freemen,  it  was  voted  by  the  Court  of  Assist- 
ants that  every  plantation  within  the  Colony 
should  have  the  right  to  appoint  two  deputies 
to  confer  with  the  Court  in  regard  to  the  assess- 
ment of  taxes.  This  also  was  a  concession  to 
the  democratic  tendencies  in  the  Colony. 


\ 

ONE  of  the  objects  of  those  who  went  to  the  \ 
Colony  of  Massachusetts   Bay  was  to  teach  the    j 
Indians    the    Christian    religion.       It    Dealings  with  / 
was  stated  in  the  charter  of  the  Col-    the  mdtais. 
ony  that  it  was  "  the  principal  end  of  the  planta- 
tion to  winn-  and  incite  the  natives  of  the  coun- 
try to  the  knowledge  and  obedience  of  the  only 
true  God  and  Saviour  of  mankind,  and  the  Chris- 
tian   faith." ]      Governor    Cradock,    in    his   letter 
to  Endicott  in  February,  1629,  enjoined  him  to 
treat  the   Indians  justly  and  courteously,  and  to 
educate  their   children.     At    a    meeting   of    the 

1  Bay  Colony  Charter,  Northend,  526. 


io6 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


Court  held  in  1631,  it  was  ordered  that  satis- 
faction should  be  made  to  the  Indians  for  a 
canoe  which  Thomas  Morton  had  unjustly  taken 
from  them,  and  that  his  house  be  burned  in 
sight  of  the  Indians  for  their  satisfaction  for 
the  wrongs  he  had  done  them.  "  It  is  the 
earnest  desire  of  our  whole  company,"  wrote 
Governor  Cradock,  "  that  you  have  a  diligent  and 
watchful  eye  over  our  own  people,  that  they  de- 
mean themselves  justly  and  courteously  towards 
the  Indians."  At  one  time  it  was  agreed  that 
"  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall  shall  give  Sagamore 
John  a  hogshead  of  corn  for  the  hurt  his  cattle 
did  him  in  his  corn  " ;  and  also  that  "  Nicholas 
Frost,  for  theft  committed  by  him  upon  the 
Indians  shall  be  severely  whipped,  and  banished 
out  of  this  patent."1  These  are  specimens  of  the 
action  that  was  taken  for  the  protection  of  the 
ndians  against  dishonest  white  men. 

There  were  few  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  by 
the  English.  That  region  had  been  almost  de- 
populated by  an  epidemic  which  had  prevailed 
before  the  arrival  of  the  English,  and  was  for  the 
most  part  open  for  the  settlers  without  interfer- 
ence with  the  rights  of  the  aborigines.  Not  a 
foot  of  land  previously  in  their  occupation  was 
appropriated  except  by  purchase.  Vattel,  in  his 

1  Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  i.  102,  and  100,  121,  133. 


PEACEFUL  RELATIONS.  IO7 

Law  of  Nations,  says :  "  We  cannot  fail  to  ap- 
plaud the  moderation  of  the  English  Puritans 
who  first  established  themselves  in  New  Eng- 
land, who  bought  from  the  savages  the  land 
which  they  wished  to  occupy."1  There  were 
occasional  acts  of  injustice  towards  the  red  men 
by  individuals  who  belonged  in  the  Colony,  and 
sometimes  a  white  man  was  robbed  or  murdered 
by  the  Indians ;  but  these  occurrences  were  rare 
and  exceptional.  The  relations  between  the 
Colonists  and  the  Indians  were  friendly  up  to 
the  time  of  the  Pequot  war,  and  the  legislation 
relating  to  the  Indians  was  just  and  humane 
through  the  whole  period  of  Colonial  history. 
When  the  Indians  were  sick,  and  their  own  peo- 
ple were  afraid  to  take  care  of  them  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  infection,  their  white  neighbors 
came  to  their  help.  The  Indians  were  much 
affected  by  the  kindness  of  their  English  friends, 
who  came  to  them  daily  to  minister  to  their 
wants.  They  also  buried  their  dead,  and  gave 
homes  to  their  orphan  children.2  The  relation 
of  the  Indian  chiefs  to  Governor  Winthrop  was 
very  friendly.  They  were  desirous  to  put  on 
English  garments,  and  the  Governor  encouraged 
them  to  do  so.  He  was  careful  to  redress  any 

1  Vattel,  Law  of  Nations,  book  i.  chap,  xviii.     Palfrey,  i-  362. 
Winthrop,  i.  89,  116,  119. 

2  Winthrop,  i.  119. 


loS 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


wrongs  they  had  suffered  from  white  men,  and 
on  a  number  of  occasions  he  invited  them  to 
dine  with  him  at  his  house,  and  treated  his  dusky 
guests  with  especial  respect  and  courtesy. 

VII 

THE  general  history  of  the  Colony  during  the 
early  years  was  much  like  that  of  other  English 
The  colony  in  Colonies.  The  settlement  at  Boston 
1630  to  1633.  grew  rapidly.  A  new  plantation  was 
begun  at  Newtown,  now  Cambridge,  in  1631, 
and  it  was  proposed  to  make  it  a  fortified  town, 
and  to  remove  the  cannon  and  the  stores  of 
ammunition  to  that  place.  There  was  a  plan 
to  make  Newtown  the  capital,  and  to  induce 
the  Governor  and  Deputy  Governor  and  most 
of  the  Assistants  to  build  houses  there.  But  the 
influence  of  the  people  in  Boston  induced  Win- 
throp  to  remain  there,  and  the  majority  of  the 
officials  remained  with  him. 

In  1631,  only  a  few  joined  the  Colony  from 
England.  Among  those  who  came  wrere  the 
wife  and  some  of  the  children  of  Governor  Win- 
throp,  and  John  Eliot,  who  was  known  in  later 
years  as  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians. 

It  was  ordered  in  April  that  every  captain 
shall  train  his  company  on  Saturday  of  each 
week;  and  later,  that  there  should  be  a  general 


GROWTH  OF  THE  COLONY.  IOQ 

training  once  a  month.  It  was  the  policy  of  the 
Colony  to  accustom  the  settlers  to  the  use  of 
arms,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  resist  attacks  from,  the 
Indians  or  from  other  enemies. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  came  from  England  to 
the  Colony  in  1632.  Among  them  was  Mr. 
Wilson,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Boston,  who 
had  gone  to  England  for  his  family;  Thomas 
Welde,  who  was  soon  after  ordained  minister  at 
Roxbury ;  and  Thomas  James,  who  was  afterwards 
minister  at  Charlestown.  Mr.  Eliot,  who  had 
come  the  year  before,  was  ordained  at  Roxbury. 
Thus  the  churches  which  had  been  formed  in 
the  new  settlements  were  provided  with  ministers. 

It  was  "  thought  by  general  consent  that  Bos- 
ton was  the  fittest  place  for  public  meetings  of 
any  place  in  the  Bay.""  It  was  ordered  that 
a  market  should  be  kept  there  every  Thurs- 
day. A  house  of  correction  was  also  erected. 
A  meeting-house  was  built  in  Boston,  and  a 
house  for  the  pastor,  by  a  voluntary  contribu- 
tion of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds. 
It  is  said  to  have  had  mud  walls  and  a  thatched 
roof,  and  to  have  stood  on  the  south  side  of  what 
is  now  State  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Devon- 
shire Street.  The  settlement  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  only  a  few  dwellings. 

In  1633,  seven  hundred  persons  came  to  Mas- 

1  Colonial  Records,  i.  101. 


I  IO  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

sachusetts  from  England.  Among  them  were 
John  Cotton,  Thomas  Hooker,  and  Samuel  Stone, 
ministers;  and  Mr.  Haynes,  Mr.  Pierce,  and  Mr. 
Goofe,  who  became  leading  men  in  the  Colony. 
Mr.  Cotton  was  ordained  by  imposition  of  hands 
as  teacher  of  the  church  in  Boston,  of  which  Mr. 
Wilson  was  pastor;  Mr.  Hooker  was  ordained  as 
pastor,  and  Mr.  Stone  as  teacher,  of  the  church 
in  Newtown. 

The  year  1634  was  a  notable  one  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Colony.  It  now  contained  about 
three  thousand  people,  scattered  through  sixteen 
plantations.1  When  notice  of  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Court  in  May  was  sent  out,  the  freemen 
in  the  different  settlements  elected  delegates, 
three  from  each  town,  who  came  to  Boston  and 
desired  to  see  the  charter  of  the  Colony.  After 
the  examination  the  deputies  were  sure  that~the 
power  of  making  laws  was  in  the  General  Court, 
including  all  the  freemen.  In  this  opinion  the 
General  Court,  after  an  examination,  agreed  with 
the  deputies,  and  voted  that  the  General  Court 
has  power  to  make  laws,  elect  officers,  levy  taxes, 
dispose  of  lands,  and  to  elect  freemen.  These 
votes  gave  to  the  freemen,  who  were  represented 
by  the  deputies,  the  control  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Colony,  and  they  were  determined  to  maintain 
their  rights  under  the  charter.  The  election 

1  Wood,  New  England  Prospect,  44. 


THE  NEW  ENGLAND   TOWN.  Ill 

sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Cotton,  in  which 
he  stated  "that  a  magistrate  ought  not  to  be 
turned  into  the  condition  of  a  private  man  with- 
out just  .cause."  The  deputies  determined  to 
effect  a  change  in  the  office  of  Governor,  not  be- 
cause they  had  less  confidence  in  Mr.  Winthrop 
than  before,  but  because  he  stood  before  the 
people  as  representing  the  doctrine  that  a  magis- 
trate has  a  claim  to  be  continued  in  his  office. 
The  vote  for  Governor  was  taken  "  by  papers," 
that  is  by  ballot,  after  the  custom  in  the  Dutch 
Republic,  and  Mr.  Dudley  was  chosen  Governor 
and  Mr.  Ludlow  Deputy  Governor. 

In  this  way  the  democratic  element  in  the 
Colony  asserted  itself,  and  from  that  time  the 
people  were  recognized  more  and  more  definitely 
as  the  source  of  political  power. 


VIII 

ONE  of  the  characteristic  things  in  the  Puritan 
Colonies  was  the  division  of  the  territory  into 
towns.  Many  of  the  ideas  of  the  Puritans  tended 
towards  republicanism,  and  they  naturally  organ- 
ized their  towns  as  little  republics  in  which  the 
people  should  manage  their  local  affairs  in  their 
own  way.  There  was  nothing  in  England  at  that 
time  from  which  they  could  have  borrowed  the 
idea  of  the  town.  It  was  somewhat  like  the  tun- 


112  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

moot  of  the  Anglo-Saxons.1  It  was  in  accord- 
ance with  the  best  traditions  of  teutonic  liberty. 
There  was  something  like  it  in  some  of  the  old- 
est Cantons  in  Switzerland,  —  and  in  the  char- 
tered towns  of  the  Netherlands,2  in  which  some 
of  the  Puritans  had  lived.  Mr.  Bryce  quotes 
the  words  of  Jefferson  in  regard  to  the  towns 
of  New  England  :  "  They  are  the  vital  principle 
of  their  government,  and  have  proved  themselves 
the  wisest  invention  ever  devised  by  the  wit  of 
man  for  the  perfect  exercise  of  self-government, 
and  for  its  preservation." 3 

The  settlers  of  New  England  had  the  advan- 
tage of  planting  in  a  new  country,  when  there 
were  no  class  distinctions  or  vested  rights  to 
limit  the  freedom  of  their  action.  The  terms 
plantation  and  town  were  used  indiscriminately 
in  the  early  years.  Companies  of  immigrants 
were  authorized  from  time  to  time  to  settle  in 
places  that  had  been  designated  by  the  Court. 
These  settlements  were  recognized  in  the  course 
of  time  as  towns  or  plantations.  Their  bounda- 
ries were  fixed  by  the  Court,  sometimes  after 
consultation  with  the  inhabitants.  The  General 
Court  exercised  jurisdiction  over  the  towns,  re- 

1  The  Making  of  England.     Green,  187. 

8  The  Puritan  in  Holland,  England,  and  America.  Douglas 
Campbell,  i.  143-147. 

8  The  American  Commonwealth,  i.  567. 


THE   TOWN  MEETING.  113 

quiring  them  to  provide  themselves  with  minis- 
ters, to  provide  arms  for  the  inhabitants,  and 
to  provide  a  place  for  the  safe  keeping  of  arms  ; 
also,  to  provide  standard  weights  and  measures ; 
and,  a  little  later,  to  support  schools.  In  1636  the 
General  Court  defined  the  powers  of  The  Town 
the  towns.  They  were  to  order  their  system- 
local  affairs,  dispose  of  their  lands,  and  to  elect 
their  officers.  The  voters  in  town  meeting  were 
those  who  had  been  admitted  as  freemen.  Some 
who  are  now  living  can  remember  when  the 
annual  town  meeting  was  called  the  "  freeman's 
meeting,"  a  reminiscence  of  the  time  when  there 
was  a  distinction  between  a  citizen  and  a  free- 
man. The  town  meeting  was  usually  held  in  the 
meeting-house. 

So  the  New  England  town  meeting  came  into 
existence  to  meet  a  definite  want  of  the  people 
of  jhejown.  The  little  republic  grew  up  in  the 
plantation  of  pioneers,  and  they  were  trained  in 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  citizenship  in 
a  free  state,  while  they  were  doing  the  business 
that  belonged  to  their  own  community.  This 
institution  of  the  Puritan  fathers  has  been  planted 
wherever  their  descendants  have  gone,  in  the 
East  and  the  West,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  Oregon.  The  town  meeting  had  its  full 
share  in  the  development  of  the  great  Republic.  / 
Within  the  town  were  gathered  the  institutions 


114  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

which  were  especially  valued  by  the  fathers.  At 
a  time  when  the  means  of  communication  were 
very  limited,  the  town  was  the  permanent  home 
of  the  family.  They  seldom  went  beyond  its 
bounds.  Certain  eccentricities  of  speech  and  of 
manner  characterized  the  people  of  certain  towns, 
'he  public  schools  in  the  earlier  years  were 
supported  by  the  towns.  We  find  these  schools 
The  PUNIC  m  existence  at  a  very  early  date, 
schools.  f^e  peOpie  haci  brought  their  Eng- 

lish Bibles  across  the  sea,  and  they  must  needs 
teach  their  children  to  read  the  Bible.  In  the 
first  3'ears  the  parents  were  the  teachers.1  As 
the  towns  grew  larger,  other  teachers  were  em- 
ployed, and  the  children  were  sent  to  school. 
The  money  was  sometimes  raised  by  voluntary 
subscriptions.  There  is  preserved  an  interesting 
list  of  such  subscriptions  for  a  school  in  Boston, 
made  in  1636.  Governor  Henry  Vane  gave  ten 
pounds;  John  Winthrop,  ten  pounds.  There  are 
forty-five  names  in  all,  and  the  amounts  vary  from 
three  shillings  to  ten  pounds.  This  paper  shows 
in  an  interesting  way  how  much  those  people, 
some  of  whom  had  not  been  a  year  within  the 
Colony,  cared  for  schools.  As  early  as  1635  it 
was  voted  that  Philemon  Pormont  "  shall  be  in- 
treated  to  become  schoolmaster  for  the  teaching 
and  nurturing  of  children."  We  read  in  Win- 

1  Bradford,  161,  162.     Winthrop,  ii.  267. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  I  I  5 

throp's  Journal  of  free  schools  in  Roxbury,  where- 
of every  inhabitant  bound  some  house  or  land  for 
a  yearly  payment  for  the  support  of  schools.  In 
Boston,  he  tells  us,  an  order  was  passed  in  1645 
to  allow  fifty  pounds  a  year  and  a  house  to  the 
master,  and  thirty  pounds  to  an  usher.  The 
children  were  to  be  taught  to  "  read  and  write, 
and  cypher,  and  Indians'  children  were  to  be 
taught  freely.  .  .  .  Other  towns  did  the  like," 
he  tells  us,  "  providing  maintenance  by  several 
means."1  In  1647  the  Colony  was  so  far  ad- 
vanced that  a  general  law  was  passed  which 
required  every  town  of  fifty  families  to  employ 
a  teacher  "for  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to 
him,  to  write  and  read."  Every  town  of  one  hun- 
dred families  was  required  to  set  up  a  grammar 
school,  "  the  master  thereof  being  able  to  instruct 
youth  so  far  as  they  may  be  fitted  for  the  Univer- 
sity." No  distinction  was  made  in  any  of  the 
early  laws  between  boys  and  girls.  The  schools 
were  provided  for  all  children.  There  was  a 
penalty  of  ^5  to  be  collected  from  towns  that 
should  fail  to  provide  schools.  It  was  left  with 
the  inhabitants  to  determine  in  what  way  the 
money  for  the  support  of  schools  should  be 
raised.2 

Much  earlier  than  this,  in  October,   1636,  the 

1  Winthrop,  ii.  267.    Bradford,  161,  162. 
8  Massachusetts  Records,  ii.  203. 


I  I  6  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

General  Court  voted  to  raise  ^400  towards  a 
school  or  college,  the  location  and  character  of 
the  buildings  to  be  determined  at  the  next  session 
of  the  Court.  A  year  later  the  Court  located  the 
college  at  Newtown,  and  appointed  a  committee  to 
oversee  the  work.  A  little  later  the  name  of  the 
town  was  changed  to  Cambridge,  after  the  town 
of  the  favorite  Puritan  University  in  England. 
Harvard  Mr.  John  Harvard,  of  Charlestown, 

college.  a    graduate    of    Cambridge    Univer- 

sity, died  soon  after,  leaving  half  of  his  estate, 
worth  some  ^700,  and  the  whole  of  his  library, 
as  an  endowment  for  the  College,  and  in  1639 
the  Court  gave  it  the  name  of  Harvard  College.1 
The  first  class  was  graduated  in  1642,  with  nine 
students.  No  instance  can  be  found  in  previous 
history  of  so  wise  and  so  generous  a  provision, 
by  a  new  Colony,  for  the  education  of  the  people, 
as  this  which  was  made  by  the  Puritan  fathers  of 
Massachusetts. 

In  the  Colonial  times,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
voters  in  town  meeting  were  all  members  of 
support  of  the  church.  The  minister  was  called, 
Ministers.  anj  settled  by  vote  of  the  freemen 
of  the  town.  The  early  Puritans  believed  that 
ministers  should  be  maintained  by  the  free  and 
voluntary  offerings  of  the  people.2  That  was 

1  Massachusetts  Records,!.  183,  208,  217,  253. 
*  Walker's  Creeds  and  Platforms,  71-79. 


SUPPORT  OF  MINISTERS.  I  I  7 

the  method  followed  by  the  Pilgrims  at  Ply- 
mouth in  the  earlier  years.  In  Boston,  the 
money  for  building  meeting-houses  and  for  the 
support  of  ministers  was  raised  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions through  most  of  the  Colonial  period. 
The  same  method  was  followed  in  the  beginning 
by  the  other  churches.  Winthrop  says  that  it 
was  offensive  to  some  of  their  people  in  his  time 
to  raise  money  by  taxation  for  the  support  of  the 
Gospel.1  The  people  were  taught  that  it  was  the 
duty,  not  only  of  members  of  the  churches,  "  but 
of  all  that  were  taught  in  the  Word  to  contribute 
unto  him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things."  As 
attendance  on  public  worship  was  required  by  law, 
this  principle  brought  all  the  people  under  this 
obligation. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Puritans,  unfortunately 
as  it  seems  to  us  at  this  day,  brought  with  them 
from  England  the  principle  of  the  union  of  church 
union  of  Church  and  State.  They  "*s«e. 
held,  as  they  say  in  the  Cambridge  Platform, 
that  "the  magistrates  are  nursing  fathers  and 
nursing  mothers"  to  the  churches.2  That  is, 
they  did  not  trust  the  churches  to  stand  with- 
out external  aid.  There  were  practical  difficul- 
ties in  raising  money  to  build  meeting-houses, 
and  to  support  ministers  in  some  of  the  towns. 

1  Winthrop,  ii.  93. 

2  Cambridge  Platform,  chap.  xi.  4. 


n8 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


The  money  was  not  always  in  the  hands  of  those 
most  willing  to  contribute.  And  yet  the  law 
required  every  town  to  have  a  minister,  and  to 
build  a  meeting-house.  So  that,  in  the  course 
of  time,  the  power  of  the  government  was  called 
in  to  enforce  the  obligation  to  support  public 
worship.  The  friends  of  the  church  paid  their 
proportion  voluntarily,  but  those  who  were  in- 
different or  unfriendly  were  compelled  to  pay. 
After  some  years,  the  custom  was  adopted  of 
collecting  the  salary  of  the  minister  by  the  same 
constables  who  gathered  the  other  taxes.  This 
method  of  imposing  a  tax  upon  the  people  for 
the  support  of  the  churches  did  not  tend  to  in- 
crease the  good  will  of  the  people  towards  the 
churches.  It  probably  interfered  with  the  natu- 
ral influence  of  the  ministers  upon  the  people. 
There  grew  up  in  all  the  Puritan  Colonies  a  class 
of  dissenters,  who  claimed,  and  in  the  end  se- 
cured, the  right  to  determine  for  themselves 
how  much  they  should  pay  for  the  support  of 
the  church,  and  to  whom  they  should  pay  it. 
The  most  serious  difficulties  which  the  Puritan 
churches  met,  in  later  years,  grew  out  of  the 
assumption,  which  was  unfortunately  made  in 
the  earlier  times,  that  they  were  the  "Standing 
order,"  and  as  such  entitled  to  certain  exclusive 
rights  and  privileges.1 

1  Massachusetts  Records,  i.  117-120. 


PROSPERITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  I  I  9 

IX 

THE  year  1634  developed  the  spirit  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Colony  in  a  number  of  ways.  They 
had  already  passed  in  safety  some  of  Growth  of  the 
the  severest  trials  of  a  new  settle-  Colcmy- 
ment  They  had  become  acclimated  in  the  new 
country,  and  had  learned  to  adapt  themselves  to 
the  necessary  conditions  of  life  in  the  wilderness. 
They  were  producing,  from  year  to  year,  food 
enough  for  themselves  and  their  cattle.  They 
were  now  so  numerous  that  they  had  ceased  to 
apprehend  an  attack  from  the  Indians.  The 
people  in  the  towns  were  learning  how  to  secure 
their  right  to  a  share  in  the  legislation  of  the 
Colony.  The  whole  number  who  had  been  ad- 
mitted as  freemen  was  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
six.  This  was  about  twelve  per  cent  of  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants,  —  a  small  proportion,  yet  large 
enough  to  secure  to  the  people  a  real  voice  in 
moulding  the  institutions  of  the  Colony.  There 
was  no  complete  code  of  laws,  but  some  of  the 
most  important  points  had  been  fixed  by  the 
General  Court,  such  as  the  right  of  trial  by  jury, 
and  the  equitable  assessment  of  taxes  upon  prop- 
erty, and  not  upon  the  polls,  as  had  been  the 
earlier  custom. 

At  the  same  time,  the  growth  of  the  Colony 
was    attracting   unfavorable    attention   from    the 


I2O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

English  government.  King  Charles  probably 
did  not  anticipate,  when  he  granted  the  charter, 
that  a  large  and  prosperous  Colony  of  English 
Dissenters  would  be  formed  within  a  few  years, 
which  would  become  a  refuge  for  those  who  were 
prosecuted  for  their  Non-Conformity  by  the  Court 
of  High  Commission.  Archbishop  Abbott  had 
died  the  year  before,  and  Bishop  Laud  had  suc- 
ceeded him  as  Primate  of  all  England.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  he  was  using 
his  great  influence  in  the  most  decided  way  in 
opposition  to  the  Dissenters,  whether  within  or 
without  the  kingdom.  Ten  large  ships  which 
were  ready  to  sail  for  Massachusetts  were  for- 
bidden to  depart.  An  Order  in  Council  was 
issued,  which  set  forth  tha'-  "great  numbers  of 
His  Majesty's  subjects  were  being  transported 
out  of  this  kingdom  to  the  plantation  of  NBw 
England,  amongst  whom  divers  persons  known 
to  be  ill  affected,  discontented  not  only  with  civil 
but  ecclesiastical  government  here,  are  observed 
to  resort  thither,  whereby  such  confusion  and 
distraction  is  already  grown  there,  especially  in 
point  of  religion,  as,  beside  the  ruin  of  the  said 
plantation,  cannot  but  highly  tend  to  the  scandal 
both  of  Church  and  State  here."  l 

Mr.  Cradock,  who  was  regarded  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Company  in  England,  was  ordered 

i  Journal  of  the  Privy  Council,  February,  1634. 


ATTACK   UPON  THE   CHARTER.  121 

to  produce  the  charter  before  the  Privy  Council, 
that  the  proceedings  of  the  Colony  might  be 
compared  with  its  provisions.1  He  sent  a  re- 
quest to  Governor  Dudley  to  send  the  charter 
to  England.  These  proceedings  caused  great 
anxiety  in  the  Colony,  but  they  united  the  people 
for  the  defence  of  their  rights.  The  Governor 
replied  diplomatically  to  Mr.  Cradock,  that  he 
had  no  authority  to  transmit  the  charter  without 
an  order  from  the  General  Court,  which  would 
meet  in  September.  Mr.  Edward  Winslow  of 
the  Plymouth  Colony  was  sent  to  England  to 
mediate  in  behalf  of  the  Colony,  and  to  correct 
the  false  statements  in  respect  to  a  violation  of 
the  terms  of  the  charter. 

The  ships  had  been  permitted  to  sail  under 
certain  conditions,  and  in  June  fourteen  ships 
had  reached  Boston  and  Salem,  bringing  a  large 
number  of  Colonists,  with  provisions  and  cattle, 
and  also  "  ordnance,  muskets,  and  powder  bought 
for  the  public,  by  moneys  given  to  that  end  :  for 
godly  people  in  England'  began  to  apprehend  a 
special  hand  of  God  in  raising  this  plantation  and 
their  hearts  were  generally  stirred  to  come  over."2 

The  complaints  against  the  Colony  were  re- 
newed before  the  Privy  Council,  and  an  alarm- 
ing report  reached  Boston  to  the  effect  that  the 
charter  had  been  declared  void,  and  that  a  gen- 

1  Winthrop,  i.  135.  2  Winthrop,  i.  138. 


122  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

eral  governor  was  to  be  sent  over  by  the  King.1 
This  report  caused  the  greatest  alarm.  It  was 
believed  that  if  a  general  governor  should  be  sent 
over,  with  unrestricted  powers,  the  ruin  of  the 
Colony  would  be  inevitable.  The  people  deter- 
mined at  once  to  resist  by  force,  if  necessary,  the 
execution  of  such  a  plan.  They  were  of  course 
aware  that  a  large  part  of  the  people  of  England 
were  in  sympathy  with  them,  and  that  the  King 
could  ill  afford  to  add  to  the  discontent  which 
had  been  caused  by  his  arbitrary  methods  of 
government.  They  determined  to  erect  fortifi- 
cations on  Castle  Island,  and  at  Charlestown  and 
Dorchester,  and  they  asked  the  people  at  Salem 
to  fortify  their  harbor.  They  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  the  Governor  and  four  other 
leading  men,  to  "  give  command  for  the  managing 
and  ordering  of  any  war  that  may  befall  us  for 
the  space  of  a  year  next  ensuing."  Orders  were 
given  for  training  the  companies  of  militia,  and 
providing  them  with  efficient  arms.  Warrants 
were  sent  to  all  the  constables  in  all  the  towns 
requiring  the  people  to  send  money,  or  workmen 
to  labor  three  days  apiece  towards  the  fort  at 
Boston.  Orders  were  given  to  impress  men  and 
carts,  to  help  make  carriages  and  wheels  for  the 
ordnance.  A  cannonier  was  appointed  for  the 
fort  at  Boston.  A  tax  of  ^600  was  also  laid 

1  Winthrop,  i.  138. 


RESISTANCE    TO  ENGLAND.  123 

upon  the  Colony.  A  beacon  was  set  on  Beacon 
Hill  in  Boston,  and  plans  were  matured  for  send- 
ing messengers  to  all  the  towns  upon  the  dis- 
covery of  the  approach  of  danger. 

All  the  ministers  of  the  Colony,  except  one 
who  had  just  arrived,  were  called  together  by  the 
Governor  and  Assistants,  and  they  were  asked 
"  what  we  ought  to  do  if  a  general  governor 
should  be  sent  out  by  England."  They  replied, 
"  that,  if  a  general  governor  were  sent,  we  ought 
not  to  accept  him,  but  to  defend  our  lawful  pos- 
sessions, (if  we  were  able,)  otherwise  to  avoid,  or 
protract."1  These  proceedings  show  that  the 
people  of  the  Colony  were  prepared  to  defend, 
by  force  if  necessary,  their  rights  under  the 
charter  from  the  King.  It  was  in  reliance  upon 
that  charter  that  they  had  made  their  homes  in 
the  wilderness,  and  it  would  have  been  necessary 
to  break  the  whole  power  of  the  Colony  before 
a  ship  with  a  governor  from  England  could  have 
entered  their  harbors. 

They  were  protected,  not  only  by  their  own 
unity  and  courage,  but  also  by  the  weakness  of 
their  adversaries.  Matters  in  England  were 
rapidly  approaching  a  crisis.  The  effort  of  the 
King  to  govern  without  a  Parliament  was  break- 
ing down.  He  was  not  prepared  at  that  time  to 
enter  into  a  contest  with  the  Colonists,  in  which 

1  Winthrop,  i.  1 54. 


124  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

he  would  have  been  sure  of  the  opposition  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  of  England.  Some 
proceedings  were  held  in  the  Privy  Council.  The 
old  Council  for  New  England,  of  which  Gorges 

o  o 

and  Mason  were  the  most  active  members,  offered 
to  surrender  their  charter,  and  requested  that 
the  charter  of  the  Company  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  be  revoked,  so  as  to  leave  the  country  open 
for  a  royal  government.  In  September  following, 
upon  the  application  of  the  Attorney  General  of 
England,  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  was  issued,  and 
served  upon  the  members  of  the  Company  in 
England.  Some  changes  were  presented,  and 
some  judgments  were  entered  against  them. 
Preparations  were  made  to  send  an  armed  force 
to  Boston.  In  July,  1637,  Sir  Ferdinando  Gor- 
ges was  appointed  governor  general  of  the  whole 
country.  But  the  governor  general  could  not 
carry  out  the  orders  that  had  been  given  him 
among  such  a  people  as  the  Colonists  were,  with- 
out an  army,  and  the  King  had  no  army  to 
send.1  In  the  end  nothing  was  done  to  inter- 
rupt the  growth  of  the  Colony.  The  General 
Court  declined  to  surrender  the  charter,  and 
after  the  storm  had  gone  by,  it  was  found  that 
the  validity  of  the  charter  was  still  unimpaired, 
and  the  Colony  continued  the  government  ac- 
cording to  its  provisions.2 

1  Chalmers,  i.  37.  2  Chalmers,  i.  55. 


NUMBER   OF  IMMIGRANTS.  125 


X 

FOR  a  number  of  years  after  the  events  just 
narrated,  the  course  of  the  Colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay  excited  little  attention  in  Development  of 
England,  because  the  English  people  ^^lomes. 
were  absorbed  in  the  great  contest  between  the 
King  and  the  Parliament.  That  was  the  oppor- 
tunity for  the  Colony  to  grow,  and  to  develop  its 
political  and  religious  principles.  The  disturb- 
ances in  the  mother  country  also  tended  to  in- 
crease the  number  who  came  to  these  shores. 
In  1638,  according  to  Winthrop,  twenty  ships 
and  at  least  three  thousand  persons  came  to  New 
Er.  gland.1  These  large  Lccessions  gave  new 
courage  and  enterprise  to  the  pioneers.  They 
began  very  early  to  look  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
Colony.  Between  1634  and  1640,  there  were 
planted  three  Puritan  Colonies  besides  Massa- 
chusetts. In  each  instance,  the  planting  of  a 
new  Colony  was  the  indirect  result  of  a  variety 
of  views,  such  as  is  likely  to  show  itself  among 
people  who  have  been  trained  to  independent 
thinking.  The  early  Puritans  needed  plenty  of 
room.  If  they  had  been  shut  up  within  a  single 
Colony,  with  a  single  type  of  government,  they 
would  have  been  uncomfortable. 

1  Winthrop,  i.  268. 


126  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

One  of  these  newer  colonies  was  that  of  Rhode 
Island,  under  the  lead  of  Roger  Williams,  who 
settlement  of  arrived  at  Boston  in  February,  1631. 
Rhode  island.  Winthrop  notes  his  arrival  in  his 
Journal,  and  speaks  of  him  as  a  "  godly  minis- 
ter."1 He  was  probably  a  native  of  Wales,  and 
was  not  far  from  thirty  years  old,  when  he  came 
to  Massachusetts.  He  had  been  a 
student  at  Pembroke  College,  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts  in  1627.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  ability 
and  scholarship.  He  was  probably  ordained  in 
the  Church  of  England,  and  afterwards  became 
a  Non-Conformist.  He  said,  in  one  of  his  letters, 
"  Truly  it  was  bitter  as  death  to  me  when  Bishop 
Laud  pursued  me  out  of  this  land,  and  my  con- 
science was  persuaded  against  the  national  Church, 
and  ceremonies,  and  bishops." 2 

On  arriving  in  Massachusetts,  he  found  himself 
out  of  sympathy  with  many  things  in  the  govern- 
ment. It  would  have  been  better  if  he  had  gone 
at  once  to  Plymouth,  for  he  was  at  that  time  a 
rigid  Separatist,  and  could  have  no  communion 
with  the  church  in  Boston,  because  its  members 
would  not  make  a  public  declaration  of  their 
repentance  for  having  had  communion  with  the 
churches  of  England  while  they  lived  there.3  He 

1  Winthrop,  i.  41.  8  Winthrop,  i.  52. 

2  Benedict,  i.  473.     Elton's  Life,  89. 


ROGER    WILLIAMS. 


did  not  approve  of  some  of  the  laws  of  the  Col- 
ony. He  declared  that  the  magistrate  ought 
not  to  punish  violations  of  the  Sabbath,  or  any 
other  offences  "  against  the  laws  of  the  first 
table."  In  fact,  the  government  of  the  Colony 
had  to  deal  at  that  time  with  a  very  positive  Dis- 
senter, who  took  no  pains  to  conceal  his  opinions. 
The  church  in  Salem  invited  him  to  become 
their  teacher.  The  Court  of  the  Colony  sent  a 
letter  of  remonstrance  to  Salem  against  his  set- 
tlement, on  account  of  the  opinions  he  had  set 
forth,  and  this  seems  to  have  caused  some  delay 
in  the  proceedings.1  After  a  little  time  we  find 
him  in  Plymouth,  where  "  he  exercised  his  gifts," 
and  where  "he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the 
church,  and  his  teaching  was  well  approved."2 
He  seems  to  have  been  an  assistant  of  the  pas- 
tor, Mr.  Ralph  Smith.  A  year  or  two  later,  Brad- 
ford wrote  that  Mr.  Williams  "  began  to  fall  into 
some  strange  opinions,  and  from  opinions  to 
practice."  This  caused  controversy  and  discon- 
tent in  the  Pilgrim  Church,  on  which  account  he 
left  them  abruptly,  receiving  however  a  letter  of 
dismission  to  the  church  in  Salem.  For  some 
time  he  was  an  assistant  to  the  pastor,  Mr.  Skel- 
ton ;  and,  after  his  death,  he  was  chosen  pastor 

1  Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts,  i.  40.     Felt's  Eccle- 
siastical History  of  New  England,  i.  149. 

2  Bradford,  310. 


128 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


in  his  place.  He  had  a  short  and  troubled  min- 
istry there,  and  in  April,  1635,  he  was  summoned 
to  appear  before  the  Court  of  Assistants,  and  was 
charged  with  certain  errors  in  his  preaching. 
The  errors  were  condemned  by  the  magistrates, 
and  by  the  ministers  who  were  called  in  to  assist 
the  magistrates.  They  related  to  the  authority 
of  magistrates,  and  to  the  administering  of  oaths 
to  persons  who  were  not  regenerate,  and  to  join- 
ing in  worship  with  such  persons.  Time  was 
given  Mr.  Williams  for  consideration,  but,  as  he 
gave  no  satisfaction,  at  the  next  session  of  the 
General  Court,  in  September,  1635,  he  was  ordered 
to  depart  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Colony 
within  six  weeks  next  ensuing.  Afterwards  per- 
mission was  given  him  to  remain  through  the 
winter.  He  spent  the  time  in  making  prepara- 
tions for  a  new  settlement,  which  he  proposed 
to  plant  on  Narragansett  Bay,  and  in  enlisting  a 
company  of  adherents.  He  lived  a  part  of  the 
winter  among  the  Indians  at  Sowans,  now  War- 
ren, and  in  the  spring  he  removed  to  what  is  now 
Providence,1  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land 
from  the  Indians,  which  he  paid  for  by  mortgag- 
ing his  house  in  Salem.  He  gave  land  freely  to 
all  who  joined  the  Colony. 

There  are  few  at  this  day  who  would  deny  that 
the  banishment  of  Roger  Williams  was  one  of  the 

1  Winthrop,  i.  158-176. 


SETTLEMENT  OF  RHODE  ISLAND. 


mistakes  of  the  Puritans.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
agree  with  all  the  opinions  which  he  expressed,  or 
to  approve  the  methods  he  employed  in  setting 
them  forth.  But  a  strong  Colony  of  intelligent 
Christian  men,  who  had  expatriated  themselves 
that  they  might  enjoy  liberty  of  conscience,  could 
well  afford  to  tolerate  so  intelligent  and  con- 
scientious a  Dissenter  as  Roger  Williams.  If 
he  had  been  permitted  to  work  out  freely  his 
principles  in  Massachusetts,  it  is  very  likely 
that  he  would  have  secured  the  adherence  of 
the  good  people  of  that  Colony  to  those  prin- 
ciples of  religious  liberty  which  have  made  his 
name  illustrious. 

Williams  called  the  place  where  he  settled 
Providence,  from  "a  sense  of  God's  merciful 
providence  unto  me  in  my  distress."  The  colony  of 
The  little  Puritan  Colony  which  he  ***ew«i*- 
founded  was  bound  together  by  a  simple  compact. 
"  We  do  promise,"  they  said,  "  to  subject  ourselves 
in  active  and  passive  obedience  to  all  such  orders 
or  agreements  as  shall  be  made  for  the  public 
good  of  the  body  in  an  orderly  way  by  the  major 
consent  of  the  present  inhabitants,  masters  of 
families,  incorporated  together  into  a  township, 
and  such  others  as  they  shall  admit  into  the 
same,  only  in  civil  things."  l 

Two  years  later  a  settlement  was  begun  on  the 

1  Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records,  i.  14. 
9 


I  3°  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

island  of  Rhode  Island.1  In  1642  Mr.  Williams 
was  sent  to  England  as  the  agent  of  the  Colony, 
and  he  secured  a  patent  for  the  incorporation 
of  Providence  Plantation.  In  1663  another  and 
more  satisfactory  charter  was  secured  from  the 
King  for  "  Rhode  Island  and  Providence  Planta- 
tions," and  this  charter  continued  to  be  the 
fundamental  law  of  Rhode  Island  till  1842. 

XI 

A  LITTLE  before  the  time  when  the  settlement 
of  Rhode  Island  was  begun,  a  request  was  pre- 
The  colony  of  sented  to  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
connecticut.  chusetts,  at  its  session  in  September, 
1634,  by  Thomas  Hooker  and  others  of  New- 
town,  for  permission  to  remove  to  the  Connecticut 
Valley.  They  gave  as  the  reasons  for  this  re- 
quest, first,  the  want  of  accommodation  for  their 
cattle,  because  the  towns  were  set  too  near  to- 
gether; second,  the  fruitfulness  of  Connecticut, 
and  the  liability  that  the  Dutch  would  possess  it ; 
and  thirdly,  "  The  strong  bent  of  their  spirits 
to  remove  thither." 2  Of  these  reasons,  the  last 
was  probably  the  most  potent.  There  were  men 
in  Newtown,  and  in  some  other  plantations  of 
the  Colony,  who  did  not  favor  the  restriction  of 
the  suffrage  to  members  of  the  churches,  or  the 

1  Rhode  Island  Colonial  Records,  i.  137. 

2  Winthrop,  i.  140. 


THOMAS  HOOKER. 


accumulation  of  power  in  the  hands  of  the  magis- 
trates. Mr.  Cotton  had  already  declared  that  de- 
mocracy was  no  fit  government  either  for  church 
or  commonwealth.  Governor  Winthrop,  in  a 
letter  to  Thomas  Hooker,  had  advocated  the  re- 
striction of  the  suffrage,  by  saying  that  "  the  best 
part  is  always  the  least :  and  of  that  best  part  the 
wiser  part  is  always  the  lesser."  Hooker  had  re- 
plied that,  "  in  matters  which  concern 

Democratic 

the  common  good,  a  general  council,     ideas  of 
chosen  by  all,  to  transact  businesses 
which   concern   all,   I   conceive  most  suitable  to 
rule,  and  most  safe  for  relief  of  the  whole."    Those 
who  were  the  leaders  in  planting  a  new  colony 
on    the   banks    of    the    Connecticut  were    intent 
upon  a  truly  democratic  government,  based  upon 
free  suffrage. 

The  request  of  the  people  of  Newtown  was  not 
granted  at  first.  The  next  year,  however,  the 
Court  gave  leave  "to  the  inhabitants  of  Water- 
town,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester  to  remove  to 
any  place  they  should  desire  to,  provided  they 
continue  still  under  this  government."1  The 
next  year  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the 
General  Court  for  the  government  of  the  people 
who  should  remove  to  Connecticut. 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  of  1635  a  small 
company  from  Dorchester  found  their  way  to 

1  Winthrop,  i.  160. 


I32  THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Windsor,  where  the  Plymouth  Colony  had  al- 
ready begun  a  settlement.  They  purchased 
Emigration  to  tne  right  of  this  company  for  the 
Connecticut.  sum  of  £ 5O)  inciuding  what  the 

Plymouth  people  had  paid  the  Indians  for  their 
lands.  Late  in  the  autumn  another  party  of 
sixty  persons,  including  women  and  children, 
driving  cattle  before  them,  set  out  for  the  new 
Colony.  They  experienced  great  hardships  on 
account  of  the  severity  of  the  weather,  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  party  returned.  In  June,  1636,  a  large 
party  from  Newtown,  under  the  lead  of  Hooker 
and  Stone,  set  out.  They  drove  a  herd  of  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  cattle,  which  grazed  as  they  jour- 
neyed and  supplied  them  with  milk.  Early  berries, 
which  they  found  growing  by  the  way,  gave  variety 
to  their  diet.  The  journey  was  over  in  a  fortnight. 
Mrs.  Hooker,  by  reason  of  illness,  was  carried  on 
a  litter.  Other  companies  came  during  the  sum- 
mer from  Dorchester  and  Watertown.  Their 
ministers  came  with  them  ;  —  Mr.  Henry  Smith 
from  Watertown,  and  Mr.  Wareham  from  Dor- 
chester. Within  a  year  the  population  of  the 
towns  on  the  Connecticut  was  estimated  at  eight 
hundred,  including  two  hundred  and  fifty  adult 
men,  distributed  among  the  three  towns  of  Hart- 
ford, Wethersfield,  and  Windsor.  A  little  earlier 
in  the  season,  William  Pynchon  of  Roxbury,  with  a 
small  company  of  pioneers,  made  his  way  through 


SETTLEMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT.  133 

the  wilderness,  following  the  Bay  Path,  and  began 
a  settlement  which  they  called  Agawam,  after- 
wards changed  to  Springfield.1  The  four  settle- 
ments were  organized  as  independent  towns  in 
the  beginning.  In  May,  1639,  a  General  Court  was 
held  at  Hartford,  made  up  of  fifteen  members, 
chosen  from  the  several  towns.2  At  this  meeting 
of  the  Court,  Mr.  Hooker  preached  a  memorable 
sermon  in  which  he  said  :  "  The  foundation  of 
authority  is  laid  in  the  free  consent  of  the  peo- 
ple: the  choice  of  public  magistrates  belongs  unto 
the  people,  by  God's  own  ordinance :  they  who 
have  power  to  appoint  officers  and  magistrates 
have  the  right  to  set  the  bounds  and  limitations 
of  the  power  and  place  of  those  who  are  called." 3 
In  January,  1639,  the  freemen  of  the  different 
towns  met  at  Hartford,  and  adopted  a  written 
constitution  for  the  government  of  the  Colony. 
It  is  said  to  be  "  the  earliest  example  of  a  written 
constitution,  constituting  a  government,  and  de- 
fining its  powers." 4  It  was  an  independent  gov- 
ernment, not  recognizing  any  external  human 
authority,  on  either  side  of  the  ocean.  It  gives 
the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  such  persons  as  shall 
be  adjudged  to  be  worthy  of  it  by  the  freemen  of 

1  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England.     Byington,  191- 
218. 

2  Connecticut  Colonial  Records,  i.  9. 
8  Palfrey,  i.  536,  note. 

4  Dr.  Bacon,  Early  Constitutional  History  of  Connecticut,  5,  6. 


134  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

the  towns,  and  who  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  commonwealth.  It  provides  for  two  meetings 
a  year  of  the  freemen  of  the  Colony.  At  the  meet- 
ing in  April  of  each  year  they  were  to  elect  by 
ballot  a  Governor,  (who  must  be  a  member  of 
some  church,)  and  as  many  magistrates  and  other 
public  officers  as  should  be  found  requisite.  There 
were  to  be  four  deputies  from  each  of  the  exist- 
ing towns ;  and  from  towns  subsequently  formed 
as  many  as  the  General  Court  should  determine. 
The  General  Court  was  to  consist  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  at  least  four  magistrates,  and  the 
deputies  from  the  towns.  It  should  have  power 
to  make  laws,  to  grant  levies,  to  admit  freemen, 
to  dispose  of  lands,  to  call  any  officer  or  other  per- 
son to  account  for  any  misdemeanor,  and  to  deal 
with  any  other  matter  that  concerns  the  common- 
wealth, except  election  of  magistrates,  which  was 
to  be  done  by  the  whole  body  of  freemen.  In  the 
absence  of  special  laws, "  the  rule  of  the  word  of 
God  "  was  to  be  followed.1  This  constitution  was 
that  of  an  independent  state,  and  it  continued  in 
force  a  hundred  and  eighty  years.  The  Colony 
was,  by  its  terms,  a  federation  of  independent 
towns,  not  only  of  such  as  existed  at  that  time, 
but  of  all  towns  that  should  come  into  being  on 
that  territory.  This  Constitution  of  Connecticut, 
framed  by  a  few  Puritan  pioneers  on  the  borders 

1  Connecticut  Colonial  Records,  i.  20-25 


SETTLEMENT  OF  NEW  HAVEN.  135 

of  the  wilderness  two  hundred  and  sixty  years 
ago,  contains  the  germs  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  "  The  little  federal  republic,"  says 
Mr.  John  Fiske,  "grew  till  it  became  the  strongest 
political  structure  on  the  continent :  .  .  .  and,  in 
the  chief  crisis  of  the  Federal  Convention  of  1787, 
Connecticut,  with  her  compromise,  which  secured 
equal  State  representation  in  one  branch  of  the 
national  government,  and  popular  representation 
in  the  other,  played  the  controlling  part."1 

In  the  early  months  of  1638  another  Puritan 
Colony  was  founded  at  Quinnipiack,  on  Long 
Island  Sound.  The  leader  of  the  party  was 
Theophilus  Eaton,  an  original  member  and  an 
officer  of  the  Massachusetts  Company.  He  was 
a  wealthy  merchant  of  London,  a  parishioner  of 
John  Davenport,  who  had  been  a  Non-Conform- 
ing minister  of  St.  Stephen's  Church  in  London. 
Mr.  Davenport  was  a  man  of  learning  and  elo- 
quence, who  had  been  driven  from  his  parish  by 
Bishop  Laud.  Eaton  had  come  to  settlement  of 
Boston  with  a  party  of  friends,  in  two  Wew  Haven- 
ships,  prepared  to  begin  a  new  settlement.  His 
company  included  three  ministers,  —  John  Daven- 
port, Samuel  Eaton,  and  Peter  Pruden.  The 
voyage  from  Boston  took  them  two  weeks.  They 
kept  their  first  Sabbath  under  the  shelter  of  an 
oak,  where  they  listened  to  a  sermon  from  Mr. 

1  Beginnings  of  New  England,  128, 


136  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Davenport.  A  few  days  later,  they  entered  into 
a  civil  compact,  in  which  they  agreed  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  rules  which  the  Scriptures  hold  out, 
not  only  in  the  gathering  and  ordering  of  a 
church,  but  also  in  all  civil  affairs.  In  June  they 
adopted  a  form  of  government,  which  was  more 
conservative  than  any  other  in  New  England.  It 
provided  that  the  suffrage  should  be  limited  to  mem- 
bers of  the  church ;  and  that  they  should  be  gov- 
erned in  all  matters,  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical, 
by  the  rules  which  are  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures. 
Twelve  men  were  chosen,  who  were  to  select 
seven  of  their  own  number  to  begin  the  church. 
The  church  members  were  constituted  freemen, 
and  they  elected  Mr.  Eaton  a  magistrate  for  one 
year,  and  four  others  as  deputies.  A  General 
Court  of  the  new  independent  state  was  held 
in  October:  land  which  had  been  purchased 
from  the  Indians  was  divided  into  lots,  which 
were  distributed  among  the  members  of  the 
Colony ;  and  arrangements  were  made  for  build- 
ing a  meeting-house,  for  regulating  the  prices  of 
commodities  and  of  labor,  for  defence  against 
hostile  Indians,  and  for  determining  who  should 
be  permitted  to  become  members  of  the  Colony. 
The  next  year  the  name  of  the  town  was  changed 
to  New  Haven. 

A  large  number  of  Puritans  of  similar  senti- 
ments came  into  the  new  Colony  within  a  few 


MRS.   ANNE  HUTCHINSON.  137 

years.  Milford  and  Guilford  were  settled  in 
1639.  In  1643  these  independent  towns  were  con- 
federated, and  the  General  Court  of  the  Colony  of 
New  Haven  began  to  hold  semi-annual  sessions.1 
Mr.  Eaton  was  chosen  Governor,  and  Stephen 
Goodyeare  was  chosen  Deputy  Governor. 

While  these  new  Colonies  were  forming  in  the 
southern  parts  of  New  England,  there  arose  in 
Massachusetts  a  controversy  more  Thecoionyof 
serious  than  the  one  connected  with  Massachusetts. 
Roger  Williams,  and  one  which  led  to  a  still  wider 
extension  of  the  Puritan  settlements.  It  grew 
out  of  the  teachings  of  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson, 
who  came  to  Boston  in  September,  1634.  She 
had  known  Mr.  Cotton  while  in  England,  and 
had  been  an  attendant  at  his  church.  One 
motive  in  coming  to  Massachusetts  was  her  de- 
sire to  attend  his  ministry.  She  is  described  by 
Winthrop  as  a  "woman  of  ready  wit,  and  bold 
spirit"2  She  must  have  had  a  good  deal  of 
ability,  and  an  unusual  power  to  draw  others 
after  her. 

Some  time  after  coming  to  Boston  she  com- 
menced holding  meetings  for  women,  at  her  own 
house.  These  meetings  were  attended  every 
week  by  large  numbers,  from  Boston  and  the 
other  towns  in  the  neighborhood.  She  con- 
ducted them  herself,  and  in  the  course  of  time 

1  New  Haven  Colonial  Records,  57-116. 

2  Winthrop,  i.  200. 


138  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

she  began  to  set  forth  religious  opinions,  which 
were  not  new,  but  which  were  very  different  from 
those  which   were  preached  by  the  ministers  of 
that  Colony.     She  made  much  of  a  certain  inner 
(    light   and  assurance,   which  came,  as   she   said, 
\    from  the  indwelling  of  the  Divine  Spirit.     Much 
of  what  she  said  reminds  one  of   the  teachings 
of  the  Quakers,  and  of  the  German  Mystics  of 
the  fourteenth  century.     She  believed   that  she 
had  a  very  close  and  intimate  relation  with  the 
Almighty,  which  enabled  her  to  speak  by  direct 
revelation,  and  to  prophesy  future  events.     She 
became  very  much  opposed  to  Mr.  Wilson,  the 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  turned  her  back  upon 
him  when  he  arose  to  preach.     She  criticised  the 
most  of  the  ministers  of  the  Colony,  as  "  under 
a  covenant  of  works,"  while  she  declared  that  Mr. 
Cotton  and  Mr.  Wheelwright,  and  such  others  as 
seemed  to  agree  with  her,  were  under  a  cove- 
^nant    of   grace.      Mr.    Winthrop    says    that   she 
i  brought   with  her   "two   dangerous    errors:    the 
\  first,  that  the  person  of  the   Holy  Ghost  dwells 
(  in   a  justified   person  ;  and   the   second,  that  no 
/  sanctification  can    help    to    evidence    to    us    our 
\justification."    At  one  time  she  numbered  among 
her   followers    Governor   Vane,    Mr.  Cotton,  the 
teacher  of  the  church,  and   nearly  all  the  mem- 
bers except  Governor  Winthrop  and  Mr.  Wilson, 
the   pastor.     The  fact   that   so  well  educated  a 


SYNOD  OF  1637.  I  39 


man  as  John  Cotton  gave  his  approval  to  some 

of  her  teachings  indicates  that    they    were    not    x?   C 

quite  absurd.  \)  / 

Things  were  growing  worse  every  day.  The 
churches  of  the  Colony  were  involved  in  the  , 
controversy.  The  people  were  divided  into  hos-\. 
tile  parties,  and  the  powers  of  the  government  ) 
were  weakened.  After  about  two  years  of  con- 
troversy, measures  were  taken,  under  the  lead  of 
Governor  Winthrop,  to  bring  the  trouble  to  an 
end.  All  the  ministers  of  the  Colony  came  to- 
gether to  consider  what  should  be  done.  By 
their  advice,  the  General  Court  summoned  a 
Synod,  to  be  composed  of  all  the  ministers  of 
the  Puritan  Colonies.  This  body  met  at  New- 
town,  August  30,  1637,  and  continued  in  session 
three  weeks.  Thomas  Hooker  of  Hartford  was 
one  of  the  Moderators.  A  list  of  eighty-two 
doubtful  teachings  was  drawn  up,  and  these  were 
all  condemned  by  the  Synod  as  erroneous. 
These  included  most  of  the  opinions 

1  Synod  of  1637. 

which  had  been   advocated    by  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  and  her  followers.     If  this  decision 
had  been  accepted  by  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  or  if  she 
had  been  willing  to  cease  the  agitation  of  these 
matters,  there  would  have  been   an   end   of   the") 
troubles.      But  she  continued  to  hold  meetings  \ 
twice  a  week  at  her  house,  and  kept  up  the  ex- 
citement among  the  people. 


I4O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

In  the  end,  the  General  Court  determined  to 
put  an  end  to  the  contention.  It  brought  the 
leading  agitators  to  trial,  as  disturbers  of  the 
peace  of  the  Colony.  Some  of  them  were  dis- 
franchised ;  others  were  sent  away  from  the 
Colony.  Mrs.  Hutchinson  was  tried  for  con- 
tinuing the  meetings  at  her  house  after  the 
decision  of  the  Synod,  and  for  railing  at  the 
ministers.  The  trial  lasted  two  days.  She  de- 
fended herself  with  great  energy,  and  laid  claim 
among  other  things,  to  prophetic  inspiration. 
At  the  conclusion,  "  the  Court  proceeded  and 
banished  her:  but  because  it  was  winter,  they 
committed  her  to  a  private  house,  where  she  was 
well  provided,  and  her  own  friends  and  the  elders 
were  permitted  to  go  to  her,  but  none  else." l 

As  the  result  of  these  proceedings  her  adhe- 
rents were  scattered  among  the  Colonies.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson,  with  some  of  her  followers,  joined 
the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island.  Mr.  Wheelwright 
went  north,  and  began  a  settlement  at  Exeter, 
within  what  is  now  New  Hampshire.  Others 
settled  at  Dover  and  at  Hampton.2  And  so  the 
contention  in  Boston  came  to  an  end.  It  is  fair 
to  state  that  the  proceedings  against  Mrs.  Hutch- 
inson seem  to  have  been  on  account  of  the 

1  Winthrop,  i.  146.     Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  i.  207. 

2  New   Hampshire    Historical    Collections,   i.    299.      Charles 
Francis  Adams,  Three  Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History. 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES.  14  J 

factious  and  turbulent  way  in  which  she  pro- 
mulgated her  opinions,  rather  than  on  account 
of  the  opinions  themselves. 


XII 

FROM  the  time  of  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth,  there  had  been  friendly  relations, 
for  the  most  part,  between  the  white  men  and  the 
Indians  in  both  Colonies,  down  to  the  year  1636. 
One  reason  was  that  the  number  of  Indians  in 
the  vicinity  of  Plymouth  and  of  Boston  was  not 
large.  The  officers  of  the  Colonies  had  always 
recognized  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and  had 
purchased  so  much  of  the  land  as  they  needed  to 
occupy.  Whenever  white  men  had  treated  the 
Indians  with  injustice,  they  had  been  severely 
punished.  If  the  settlements  had  not  extended 
beyond  the  eastern  part  of  the  territory,  where 
the  whites  were  able  to  protect  each  other,  it  is 
probable  that  these  friendly  relations  would  have 
continued  for  many  years  longer. 

The  extension  of  the  settlements  to  Narragan- 
sett  Bay,  and  to  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut, 
brought  the  Colonists  into  conflict  with  the  large 
and  powerful  tribes  of  Indians  whose  country 
extended  from  Narragansett  Bay  to  the  Con- 
necticut. That  country  had  a  large  population 
of  Indians.  In  1636,  some  Indians  of  Block 


142  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

Island  captured  a  small  vessel  on  Long  Island 
Sound,  and  murdered  John  Oldham,  whom  they 
Thepequotwar  ^ounci  on  board,  and  captured  two 
boys  who  were  with  him.  Governor 
Vane  sent  a  messenger  to  demand  that  the  mur- 
derers should  be  punished.  As  nothing  came  of 
it,  he  sent  Endicott,  the  last  of  August,  with 
ninety  men,  who  ravaged  the  island,  without 
finding  the  Indians,  and  then  sailed  to  Fort 
Saybrook,  a  military  post  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Connecticut.  Later,  he  attacked  the  Pequots 
on  the  mainland,  burned  a  large  number  of  wig- 
wams, and  returned  to  Boston  without  the  loss 
of  a  man. 

All  this  served  only  to  irritate  the  Indians. 
The  Colonists  in  Connecticut  were  kept  in  con- 
stant alarm  through  the  winter.  Indians  hung 
about  the  settlements  to  capture  such  of  the  set- 
tlers as  ventured  to  go  to  a  distance  from  their 
dwellings.  These  they  tortured  and  murdered. 
In  the  spring  of  1637,  the  Indians  made  an  attack 
upon  Wethersfield,  killed  nine  persons,  and  car- 
ried away  some  captives.  In  all  some  thirty  of 
the  settlers  were  killed  during  the  year. 

At  that  time  there  were  only  three  hundred 
white  men  in  Connecticut.  Ninety  of  them  were 
enlisted  for  a  campaign  against  the  Indians,  under 
Captain  John  Mason,  a  soldier  of  experience  and 
of  courage.  A  call  for  aid  was  made  upon  Ply- 


THE  PEQUOT   WAR.  143 


mouth  and  Massachusetts.  Roger  Williams  used 
his  influence  with  the  Narragansetts  to  prevent 
them  from  joining  the  Pequots  against  the  Eng- 
lish, and  by  his  persuasion  the  chiefs  of  the 
Narragansetts  made  a  treaty  of  alliance  with 
the  Colony  of  Massachusetts.  Only  twenty  Mas- 
sachusetts men,  under  Captain  Underhill,  had 
reached  the  seat  of  war  when  the  active  cam- 
paign was  begun. 

Captain  Mason,  with  the  Connecticut  men, 
and  with  a  force  of  Indian  allies,  went  directly 
into  the  country  of  the  Pequots,  and  attacked 
one  of  their  strongholds  so  early  in  the  morning 
that  he  took  the  Indians  by  surprise.  It  was  a 
stockade  with  two  narrow  entrances,  one  on  the 
east  and  the  other  on  the  west.  Mason  divided 
his  small  force  and  attacked  the  Indians  at  both  [^ 
entrances.  His  men  forced  their  way  into  the 
fort  and  prevented  the  escape  of  the  people. 
The  Indians  defended  themselves  with  vigor, 
but  the  wigwams  were  set  on  fire.  The  English 
were  well  armed,  and  more  than  six  hundred  In- 
dians perished  by  the  fire  and  by  the  sword  within 
a  few  hours.  A  party  of  two  hundred  Pequots 
from  the  other  stockade  attacked  the  little  force 
under  Mason  later  in  the  day,  but  they  were 
beaten  off.  He  soon  met  Captain  Patrick  with 
forty  Massachusetts  men,  who  had  been  coming 
with  the  utmost  speed  to  his  assistance.  A 


144  THE  PURITAN  AS  A   COLONIST. 

larger  party  from  Massachusetts  was  sent  later. 
The  war  was  continued  through  the  summer. 
In  the  end  the  Pequots  who  remained  surrendered 
to  the  English,  and  were  distributed  between 
other  Indian  tribes,  and  this  warlike  nation  ceased 
to  have  a  separate  existence. 

The  Pequot  war  served  to  draw  the  Colonies 
into  a  closer  sympathy  with  each  other.  It  im- 
pressed the  savage  tribes  with  a  sense  of  the 
immense  superiority  of  the  English  as  soldiers. 
The  Colonists  also  learned  a  lesson  of  the  great 
value  to  their  own  peace  of  a  good  understand- 
ing with  their  savage  neighbors.  As  a  result, 
for  more  than  the  lifetime  of  a  generation,  until 
King  Philip's  War,  there  was  no  serious  trouble 
between  the  white  men  and  the  Indians.1 


XIII 

THE  Long  Parliament  met  at  Westminster, 
November  3,  1640.  This  was  a  marked  period  in 
The  Long  par-  *ne  history,  not  only  of  Great  Britain, 
"*»"*•  but  of  New  England.  With  the  call- 

ing of  that  Parliament  the  friends  of  liberty  in 
the  old  country  were  assured  of  a  fair  field  for  the 
struggle  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  Englishmen. 
The  meeting  of  that  Parliament  also  marked  the 

1  History  of  Connecticut,  by  Alexander  Johnston,  34-55.  Sand- 
ford's  Connecticut,  21-28.  Trumbull's  Connecticut,  59-87. 


THE  PURITAN  COLONIES.  145 

end  of  the  immigration  to  this  country.  Be- 
tween 1620,  when  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  1640,  about  twenty-one  thousand 
persons  had  come  across  the  sea  to  New  England. 
They  had  come  over  in  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  ships.  The  cost  of  transporting  the  peo- 
ple, and  their  goods,  and  their  cattle,  was  not 
far  from  half  a  million  dollars.  During  the  next 
century  and  a  quarter,  very  few  came  from  the 
mother  country.  For  the  next  twenty  years  a 
considerable  number  went  back  to  England  to  take 
a  part  in  the  contest  that  was  going  on  there. 

"  God  had  sifted  three  kingdoms,"  said  William 
Stoughton,  half  a  century  later,  "  that  he  might 
send  choice  grain  into  the  wilderness."  They 
were  of  pure  English  blood.  Mr.  Savage,  our 
highest  authority  on  such  a  subject,  states  that 
ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the  people  in  New  Eng- 
land at  that  time  were  of  strictly  English  descent. 
Now  and  then  we  come  upon  the  name  of  a 
Welshman  among  the  New  England  Puritans, 
but  very  few  at  that  day  were  of  Scottish  or  Irish 
descent.  The  immigration  consisted  largely  of 
English  country  gentlemen.  They  were  thrifty 
and  prosperous  people,  —  the  friends  of  law  and 
order,  as  well  as  of  freedom.  It  is  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  one  fourth  of  the  present 
population  of  the  United  States  is  descended 
from  the  twenty-one  thousand  Pilgrims  and  Puri- 


10 


146  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

tans  who  came  to  these  shores  from  England  and 
Holland. 

At  the  close  of  the  Pequot  War,  some  magis- 
trates and  ministers  of  Connecticut  held  a  con- 
me  confedera-  ference  with  the  authorities  at  Boston 
tion-  with  regard  to  a  Confederation.  Later, 

Massachusetts  proposed  a  plan  for  a  Union,  to 
which  Connecticut  did  not  agree.  In  1642,  Con- 
necticut made  overtures  to  Plymouth,  New  Haven, 
and  Massachusetts,  and  in  May,  1643,  commis- 
sioners from  these  four  Colonies  met  at  Boston 
and  agreed  upon  Articles  of  Confederation,  which 
were  afterwards  ratified  by  the  General  Courts  of 
the  four  Colonies.  They  took  the  name  of  the 
United  Colonies  of  New  England.  It  was  a  fed- 
erative union,  not  an  absorption  of  the  separate 
Colonies.  The  preamble  to  the  Articles  of  Con- 
federation states  that  the  people  in  the  different 
Colonies  had  come  to  America  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, which  was  "to  advance  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  and  to  enjoy  the  liberties  of  the  Gospel 
in  purity  and  peace."  It  states  the  reasons  for 
union  to  be  the  unexpected  spread  of  the  settle- 
ments over  the  country,  the  peril  from  the  In- 
dians, the  danger  from  the  settlements  of  other 
people  of  strange  languages  to  the  north  and 
the  south,  and  the  distractions  in  England. 
Each  Colony  retained  its  power  to  control  its 
internal  affairs.  The  Articles  provided  for  the 


THE  CONFEDERATION.  147 

appointment  of  two  Commissioners  from  each  Col- 
ony, who  must  be  members  of  churches.  These 
Commissioners  were  to  meet  annually,  on  the  first 
Thursday  in  September,  and  as  much  oftener  as 
should  be  necessary,  in  the  different  Colonies,  in 
rotation,  beginning  in  Boston,  to  provide  for  com- 
mon interests  and  for  common  defence.  Each 
Colony  was  to  provide  men,  provisions,  and  other 
expenditures  in  the  proportion  of  its  male  inhab- 
itants between  sixteen  and  sixty.  The  Commis- 
sioners were  to  have  power  to  call  upon  the 
Colonies  to  furnish  their  respective  quotas.  It 
was  provided  that  fugitives  from  one  Colony 
might  be  arrested  by  the  authorities  of  another 
Colony.1  The  Confederation  was  to  have  entire 
control  over  all  dealings  with  the  Indians,  or 
other  foreign  powers. 

The  Colonies  north  of  Massachusetts  were  not 
invited  to  become  members  of  the  Confederacy, 
nor  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island.  This  Confeder- 
acy did  not  exist  by  authority  of  the  King  or  of 
the  Parliament.  The  Articles  of  Confederation 
served  as  models  for  the  Continental  Congress 
when  they  framed  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
of  all  the  Colonies  in  1781.  At  the  date  of  the 
Confederation  of  the  four  Colonies,  Massachu- 
setts had  about  fifteen  thousand  people,  and  the 
other  Colonies  about  three  thousand  each. 

1  Winthrop,  ii.  101-106. 


14-8  THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

The  influence  of  the  Confederation  upon  the 
Colonies  of  New  England  was  very  great.  It 
promoted  an  exchange  of  opinions,  which  in 
those  scattered  settlements  was  of  great  impor- 
tance. It  tended  to  limit  the  prevalence  of  local 
peculiarities.  It  tended,  on  the  whole,  towards 
strengthening  the  democratic  tendencies  among 
the  people,  and  limiting  the  aristocratic  influences 
which  had  been  imported  from  the  old  country. 
It  increased  the  feeling  of  security,  and  helped 
the  development  of  popular  institutions.  From 
the  date  of  the  Confederation,  the  difference 
between  the  Pilgrim  Colony  and  the  Colonies  of 
the  Puritans  was  less  perceptible  than  in  the 
earlier  years. 

At  the  date  of  the  Confederation  there  were 
forty-nine  towns  in  the  four  Colonies.  Plymouth 
had  eight,  Massachusetts  thirty,  Connecticut  six, 
and  New  Haven  five.  Each  Colony  was  a  fed- 
eration of  little  republics,  all  of  which  were 
represented  in  the  Colonial  government.  They 
appointed  their  selectmen  and  their  other  officers 
to  have  charge  of  the  general  business  of  the 
Government  of  town.  The  basis  of  the  suffrage  was 
tnecoionies.  not  uniform.  In  Plymouth  and  Con- 
necticut the  freemen  conferred  the  franchise 
upon  such  citizens  as  they  esteemed  most  worthy 
of  it.  In  Massachusetts  they  were  restricted  to 
those  who  were  members  of  the  churches.  Taxes 


LAWS  AND  COURTS.  149 


were  assessed  upon  property,  not  upon  the  polls. 
Each  Colony  had  a  Governor,  and  all  but  Ply- 
mouth had  a  Deputy  Governor,  elected  annually 
by  the  freemen.  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
had  boards  of  Assistants.  In  Connecticut  and 
New  Haven  these  were  called  Magistrates.  In 
each  Colony  Deputies  were  elected  by  the  free- 
men of  the  towns,  who  were  members  of  the 
General  Court  of  the  Colony.  In  1644,  the 
Deputies  in  Massachusetts  became  a  co-ordinate 
branch  of  the  General  Court,  meeting  by  them- 
selves. This  change  was  made  in  Connecticut 
in  I645.1 

Courts  of  Justice  were  established  in  each 
Colony  in  its  early  years.  At  first  the  Gover- 
nor and  the  Assistants  were  the  magistrates.  A 
little  later,  there  were  local  courts.  Justices  of 
the  Peace  were  appointed  in  Massachusetts  dur- 
ing its  first  year.  Juries  were  called  for  the 
trial  of  cases  in  all  the  Colonies  except  New 
Haven. 

Plymouth  had  a  code  of  laws  in  1632.  Massa- 
chusetts adopted  "  The  Body  of  Liberties  "  in 
1641.  It  had  been  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Ward,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Ipswich.  He  had 
been  a  lawyer  while  in  England.2  A  part  of  this 

1  Connecticut  Colonial  Records,  i.  119. 

2  See  a  fuller  account  in  The   Puritan  in  England  and  New 
England,  255. 


I5O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

code  was  adopted  by  Connecticut  in  1643.  In 
New  Haven,  "the  judicial  laws  of  God,  as  they 
were  delivered  by  Moses,"  were  the  rule  for  the 
guidance  of  the  courts.  In  all  the  Colonies  there 
were  laws,  such  as  existed  in  England  at  that 
time,  to  regulate  the  prices  of  commodities  and 
of  labor.1  In  New  England,  as  in  Virginia  and 
in  England,  the  support  of  the  ministers  and 
attendance  upon  public  worship  were  required 
by  law.2 

The  churches  in  all  the  Colonies  were  organ- 
ized after  the  Congregational  way.  Each  church 
was  independent.  The  officers  of  a  Congrega- 
tional Church  at  that  time  were  a  pastor  and  a 
teacher,  who  were  both  preachers,  of  equal  au- 
thority; one  or  more  ruling  elders,  and  one  or 
more  deacons,  who  had  charge  of  financial  affairs, 
and  especially  the  duty  of  providing  for  the 
poor.3  In  1643  there  were  about  eighty  min- 
isters in  New  England.4  The  places  of  worship 
were  called  meeting-houses.  As  bells  were  seldom 
to  be  had,  the  people  were  called  together  by  the 
beat  of  the  drum.  The  men  were  seated  on  one 
side  of  the  audience  room,  and  the  women  on  the 
other.  The  first  service  of  public  worship  began 

1  Macaulay's  History  of  England,  chapter  iii. 

2  Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  i.  140. 

8  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  146-162. 
4  Winthrop,  i.  265,  note. 


SERVICES  OF  PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


at  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  the 
second  at  one  or  two  in  the  afternoon.  The 
services  consisted  of  the  singing  of  the  Psalms 
from  a  metrical  version,  by  the  congregation, 
without  the  aid  of  musical  instruments;  unwrit- 
ten prayers,  the  exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
sermons.  Children  were  baptized  in  the  meet- 
ing-house, commonly  on  the  Sunday  following 
their  birth.  The  sacraments  were  administered 
at  frequent  intervals.  Marriages  were  performed 
by  the  magistrates.  The  dead  were  buried  by 
their  neighbors  and  friends,  without  any  religious 
jites. 

In  the  earlier  years  the  houses  of  the  people 
were  built  of  logs,  with  thatched  roofs.  The 
floors  were  of  clay  or  of  split  logs.  The 
ground  floor  was  divided  by  partitions  into  two 
or  three  rooms.  The  fireplace  was  of  rough 
stones,  and  the  chimneys  were  of  boards,  plas- 
tered inside  with  clay.  Lumber  was  sawed  by 
hand  in  saw-pits.  Later,  sawmills  were  con- 
structed. 

In  the  second  period,  the  better  class  of  houses 
were  of  two  stories.  The  frame  timbers  were  of  oak 
and  very  heavy.  The  windows  were  two  and  a  half 
to  three  feet  long,  and  eighteen  inches  wide.  The 
glass  was  in  diamond  panes  of  three  or  four  inches. 
The  windows  were  sometimes  on  hinges.  The 
principal  article  of  food  in  the  early  days  was 


I52  THE  PURITAN  AS   A    COLONIST. 

Indian  corn.  Wild  game  was  abundant.  Bean 
porridge,  and  hasty  pudding  and  milk,  were  also 
very  common  articles  of  food.  Beer  was  brewed 
in  families,  and  the  orchards  soon  yielded  an 
abundance  of  cider.  Wine  and  rum  were  very 
commonly  used  in  those  days,  although,  if  we  may 
credit  the  statements  of  early  travellers,  intoxica- 
tion was  uncommon.  The  dress  of  the  largest 
^^umber  of  the  people  was  plain.  Economy  in 
ry  /dress  was  enjoined,  not  only  in  moral  teachings, 

/     but  by  the  laws  of    the   Colony.     The   General 
Court   passed   orders   forbidding  the  "excessive 

V     wearing  of  lace,  and  other  superfluities."1 

The  ministers  of  that  time  exercised  a  great 
deal  of  influence.  They  preached  to  the  people, 
catechised  the  children,  visited  at  the  homes  of 
the  Colonists,  and  were  constantly  called  upon 
for  advice  and  counsel.  They  usually  wore  the 
gown  and  bands  in  the  pulpit.  It  was  the  prac- 
tice of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  to 
propound  important  questions  to  the  ministers, 
which  they  answered  in  writing.  "  The  proceed- 
ing," says  William  D.  Northend,  LL.  D.,  "was 
similar  to  that  requiring  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  to  give  to  either  branch 
of  the  Legislature,  or  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, upon  request,  opinions  upon  important  ques- 
tions of  law."  He  adds :  "  The  opinions  given 

1  Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  i.  274. 


THE  CONFEDERACY.  153 


by  the  ministers  which  have  been  preserved 
are  very  able,  and  will,  in  logic  and  sound  rea- 
soning, bear  a  not  unfavorable  comparison  with 
opinions  of  the  justices,  given  under  this  pro- 
vision of  our  Constitution."1 


XIV 

THE  first  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Confederacy  of  New  England  was  held  in  Boston, 
September  7,  1643.  Edward  Winslow  First  Meeting  of 
and  William  Collier  were  there  from  the  confederacy. 
Plymouth ;  John  Winthrop  and  Thomas  Dudley, 
from  Massachusetts;  George  Fenwick  and  Ed- 
ward Hopkins,  from  Connecticut;  and  The- 
ophilus  Eaton  and  Thomas  Gregson,  from  New 
Haven.  Winthrop  was  elected  President.  The 
matters  that  came  before  the  body  were  of  great 
importance.  The  Commissioners  agreed  to  the 
incorporation  of  Milford  into  the  Colony  of  New 
Haven,  and  of  Southampton  into  the  Colony  of 
Connecticut.  The  Indian  question  engaged  much 
of  their  attention.  The  Narragansetts  and  the 
Mohegans  were  the  most  powerful  tribes  of  south- 
ern New  England.  They  had  both  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  Colonists,  and  were  both 
jealous  of  each  other.  There  were  strong  reasons 
for  the  opinion  that  the  Narragansetts  were  plan- 

1  The  Bay  Colony,  204,  note. 


154  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

ning  a  general  massacre  of  the  English.  Their 
chief,  Miantonomo,  was  summoned  to  Boston, 
where  he  made  promises  that  were  for  the  time 
satisfactory.  There  were  contentions  between 
Samuel  Gorton  and  some  other  troublesome 
white  men,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Indians, 
about  the  purchase  of  a  section  of  land,  which 
tended  to  make  the  troubles  more  serious.1 
These  things  all  came  before  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Confederacy.  They  were  satisfied  that 
there  was  a  conspiracy  to  destroy  the  white  men 
of  the  Colonies,  and  that  the  Narragansett  chief 
was  at  the  head  of  it.  They  recommended  to 
the  Colonies  to  make  preparations  for  war.  But 
in  the  end  the  two  great  tribes  went  to  war  with 
each  other.  Miantonomo  was  taken  prisoner,  and, 
after  some  delay,  was  put  to  death  by  his  Indian 
captors,  with  the  assent  of  the  white  men,  and  so 
for  the  time  the  danger  was  averted. 

The  Confederacy  also  dealt  with  the  other 
European  Colonies  in  America.  The  Swedish 
Governor  in  Delaware  had  ill  treated  some  New 
Haven  people  who  had  begun  business  within  his 
Colony,  and  New  Haven  made  a  complaint  to  the 
Commissioners.  A  letter  from  Winthrop  brought 
a  promise  from  the  Swedes  that  they  would  not 
molest  any  visitors  who  should  bring  authority 

1  Rhode  Island  Historical  Collections,  ii.  191.      Massachusetts 
Historical  Collections,  xxi.  2. 


SECOND  MEETING  OF  THE    COMMISSIONERS.  155 

from  the  Commissioners.  The  Dutch  at  New 
Amsterdam  complained  of  encroachments  by 
Connecticut  upon  their  rights.  The  Commis- 
sioners succeeded  in  adjusting  this  matter  with- 
out serious  trouble.  The  French  on  the  north 
were  in  conflict  among  themselves.  La  Tour 
and  D'Aulnay  both  sought  the  aid  of  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Federal  Commissioners,  at  their 
second  session,  made  a  declaration  of  neutrality, 
saying  "that  no  jurisdiction  within  this  Confed- 
eration shall  permit  any  voluntaries  to  go  forth 
in  a  warlike  way  against  any  people  whatsoever, 
without  order  and  direction  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  several  Colonies." 

The  second  meeting  lasted  a  fortnight,  or 
longer.  The  Commissioners  advised  the  Gen- 
eral Courts  of  the  Colonies  to  make  permanent 
provision  by  law  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
clergy.  They  recommended  that  every  family 
throughout  the  plantations  should  make  a  contri- 
bution every  year  toward  the  maintenance  of  poor 
students  in  the  College  at  Cambridge.  They 
authorized  Massachusetts  to  receive  Martha's 
Vineyard  into  its  jurisdiction.  They  forbade 
the  selling  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  In- 
dians. They  provided  for  a  yearly  census  of  all 
the  males  from  sixteen  years  to  sixty,  in  each 
Colony;  and  they  instructed  their  President  to 
engage  an  agent  to  lay  out  the  best  course  for 


156  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

a  road  from  Boston  to  the  Connecticut  River. 
They  also  asked  the  ministers  to  inquire  what 
measures  could  be  taken  to  provide  a  confes- 
sion of  doctrine  and  discipline  to  be  used  in  the 
churches.  In  these  very  decided  and  well  con- 
sidered ways  the  Confederacy  of  the  Colonies 
began  its  work. 

XV 

THE  next  important  event  in  the  Colonies  was 
the  meeting  of  the  Synod  which  framed  the  Cam- 
bridge Platform.  The  general  purpose  of  the 
Synod  was  "to  consult  and  advise  of  one  uni- 
form order  of  discipline  in  the  churches  agree- 
able to  the  Scriptures."  The  form  of  church 
polity  which  had  grown  up  among  the  Pilgrims 
and  the  Puritans  was  comparatively  new  in  mod- 
ern times.  It  was  a  decided  departure,  not  only 
from  the  prelatical  episcopal  system,  but  also 
from  Presbyterianism,  and  from  the  polity  of 
The  Cambridge  most  of  tne  other  churches  of  the  Ref- 
synod.  ormation.  There  were  some  people 

of  influence  in  New  England  who  did  not  ap- 
prove of  the  Independent  churches  that  had 
grown  up  here.  There  was  an  increasing  num- 
ber who  objected  to  limiting  the  franchise  to 
members  of  the  churches.  A  vigorous  effort  was 
in  progress  to  induce  the  Parliament  to  impose 
the  Presbyterian  system  upon  these  Colonies. 


THE   CAMBRIDGE  SYNOD.  157 

The  Westminster  Assembly  was  in  session,  with 
a  majority  of  Presbyterians,  and  it  had  agreed 
upon  a  statement  of  church  polity  that  was 
strictly  Presbyterian.  But  in  New  England  it 
was  generally  maintained  that  the  members  of 
the  church  should  decide  questions  relating  to 
the  admission  of  members,  the  discipline  of  the 
churches,  and  the  selection  of  ministers.1  John 
Cotton  had  prepared  his  "  Way  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  New  England,"  and  his  "  Keyes  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  in  which  he  had  set 
forth  the  views  commonly  held  by  the  churches  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  the  Puritans.  Thomas  Hooker 
of  Connecticut,  who  was  perhaps  the  ablest  of 
the  ministers,  had  also  prepared  his  "Survey 
of  the  Summe  of  Church  Discipline."  In  this 
treatise  Hooker  brought  out  more  plainly  than 
the  earlier  writers  had  done  the  relation  of  the 
Independent  churches  to  each  other,  and  the 
need  of  councils  to  express  the  fellowship  of 
the  churches.  In  1647,  tne  church  in  Windsor, 
Connecticut,  adopted  its  creed  covenant,  which 
was  one  of  the  earliest  Confessions  of  Faith  in 
New  England. 

It  was  fully  time  for  setting  forth  the  prin- 
ciples of  church  government  on  which  the  New 
England  churches  could  unite.  There  had  been 
some  decided  advance  since  the  first  churches 

1  Walker's  Creeds  and  Platforms,  138,  139. 


158  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

were  organized.  There  were  already  treatises 
prepared  by  individual  ministers.  But  there  was 
need  of  a  standard  for  all  the  churches.  The 
preparation  of  such  a  standard  would  require  the 
united  wisdom  of  the  best  men  in  all  the  Colo- 
nies. So,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the 
time,  some  of  the  ministers  asked  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  convene  a  Synod. 
The  Magistrates  (or  the  Upper  House)  passed 
an  act  for  that  purpose.  The  Deputies  of  the 
towns  (or  the  Lower  House)  objected,  on  the 
ground  that  the  civil  magistrates  have  no  right 
to  exercise  authority  over  the  churches.  This 
act  of  the  Deputies  was  very  significant,  as  an 
indication  that  the  power  of  the  Theocracy  was 
waning.  The  matter  was  settled  by  a  compro- 
mise, according  to  which  the  act  of  the  General 
Court  took  the  form  of  an  invitation,  instead  of 
a  command.1  The  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts invited  the  several  churches  of  the  Colony 
to  meet  at  Cambridge  on  the  ist  of  September 
next  ensuing,  by  their  Elders  and  Messengers, 
in  a  public  Assembly,  to  consider  "such  questions 
of  church  government  and  discipline "  as  they 
shall  think  needful,  so  as  to  set  forth  "  one  forme 
of  government  and  discipline,"  such  as  "  they 
judge  agreeable  to  the  Holy  Scriptures."  The 
General  Court  directed  that  copies  of  this  invi- 

1  Winthrop,  ii.  330-332. 


THE   CHURCHES  REPRESENTED. 


tation  be  sent  to  all  the  churches  within  the  Con- 
federation, and  that  they  be  desired  to  send  their 
Elders  and  Messengers  to  this  Assembly,  who 
should  have  the  same  rights  and  privileges  in 
the  body  as  those  of  Massachusetts. 

All  the  churches  of  Massachusetts  but  four 
were  represented  in  the  Assembly  or  Synod 
when  it  met  at  Cambridge  the  ist  Meeting  of  the 
of  September,  1646  (O.  S.).  Two  of  Synod' 
the  absent  churches  sent  their  representatives 
a  few  days  later,1  so  that  the  Synod  at  that 
time  contained  representatives  from  twenty-eight 
churches  of  Massachusetts,  two  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  a  few,  we  do  not  know  how  many, 
from  the  other  Colonies.  The  Synod  appointed 
John  Cotton  and  Richard  Mather  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  Ralph  Partridge  of  Plymouth,  to  pre- 
pare, each  one  by  himself,  a  model  of  church 
government  for  submission  to  the  Synod  at  its 
next  session.  The  body  then  adjourned  to  the 
8th  of  June  of  the  following  year,  after  a  session 
of  only  fourteen  days. 

The  Synod  met  again,  June  8,  1647,  and  after 
a  short  session  adjourned  to  the  i6th  of  August, 
1648.  This  last  session  did  its  work  rapidly. 
The  "  Platform  of  Church  Discipline,"  drawn  up 
by  Richard  Mather  of  Dorchester,  was  adopted, 
with  some  amendments.  The  Synod  also  ac- 

3  Creeds  and  Platforms,  168. 


l6O  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

cepted  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  "for  the  substance  thereof," 
as  the  doctrinal  standard.  They  had  thus  put 
the  churches  on  a  platform  which  was  accepted 
as  orthodox  by  the  English  Puritans,  and  they 
had  set  forth  the  Congregational  method  of 
discipline  and  government  in  a  consistent  and 
logical  order,  such  that  they  could  meet  success- 
fully the  charges  of  looseness  and  of  heresy 
which  had  been  put  forth  as  reasons  for  the  in- 
terference of  the  English  Parliament. 

The  Platform  was  accepted  by  the  General 
Court,  and  commended  to  the  churches.  "  It  is," 
The  Cambridge  the  Court  said,  ufor  the  substance 
platform.  thereof  that  we  have  practised,  and 

do  believe."  It  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
since  it  was  adopted,  and  for  a  considerable  part 
of  that  time  it  has  been  the  recognized  standard 
of  the  Congregational  Churches.  It  sets  forth  the 
power  of  each  local  church  to  control  its  local 
affairs,  under  the  direction  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  emphasizes  the  relation  of  the  churches  to  each 
other  in  fellowship,  and  it  provides  for  the  call- 
ing of  Ecclesiastical  Councils,  for  advice  on  mat- 
ters in  which  all  the  churches  have  an  interest. 
This  part  of  the  Platform  has  been  more  fully 
developed  in  modern  times,  and  the  Mutual  and 
Ex  parte  Councils  have  become  characteristic 
features  of  the  Congregational  Churches. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  l6l 


In  respect  to  the  power  of  the  magistrate  in 
ecclesiastical  matters,  the  provisions  of  the  Plat- 
form have  been  essentially  modified  since  the 
union  of  Church  and  State  has  been  given  up. 
All  that  part  of  the  Congregational  system 
which  has  to  do  with  the  missionary  work,  at 
home  and  abroad,  has  been  developed  in  later 
periods. 

About  the  time  when  the  Cambridge  Synod 
was  doing  its  work,  there  was  the  beginning  of  a 
very  important  missionary  enterprise  Missions  to  the 
among  the  Indians.  The  Pilgrims  Indians- 
and  the  Puritans  had  made  the  conversion  of  the 
native  tribes  to  the  Christian  faith  prominent 
among  the  reasons  for  coming  to  this  country. 
They  had  done  a  good  deal  of  work  for  the 
Indians  from  year  to  year.  We  should  espe- 
cially note  that  Roger  Williams  learned  the 
language  of  the  Indians,  and  preached  to  them 
with  a  good  degree  of  success.  In  1632  he  pub- 
lished his  "  Key  to  the  Languages  of  the  Indians." 
In  1636  the  General  Court  of  the  Plymouth  Col- 
ony passed  an  order  to  encourage  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians.  In  1644 
Massachusetts  asked  the  ministers  to  point  out 
the  best  methods  of  teaching  the  truths  of  re- 
ligion to  the  Indians.  Two  years  later  the 
Court  asked  the  ministers  to  choose  two  of  their 
number,  every  year,  to  preach  to  the  Indians 


162 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


in  their  own  language.  About  the  same  time, 
Thomas  Mayhew,  and  his  son  of  the  same  name, 
began  to  preach  to  the  Indians  on  Martha's 
Vineyard.  The  work  was  carried  on  by  the 
father,  the  son,  and  the  grandson  for  many  years, 
and  a  large  number  of  Indians  were  gathered 
into  Christian  communities  and  churches. 

In  1646,  John  Eliot,  one  of  the  ministers  of 
the  church  in  Roxbury,  began  to  preach  to  the 
Indians  at  Nonantum.  He  translated  the  Bible 
into  the  language  of  the  Massachusetts  tribe, 
and  gathered  the  Christian  Indians  into  com- 
munities at  Nonantum  and  Natick,  and  at  other 
places.  A  large  number  of  the  natives  were 
taught  to  read.  They  were  gathered  into  schools 
and  churches  and  congregations.  There  was  a 
considerable  number  of  well  educated  Indian 
teachers  and  preachers.  Good  people  in  all  the 
Colonies  were  enlisted  in  the  work,  and  there 
was  a  prospect  at  one  time  that  the  Indians 
of  New  England  would  accept  the  religion 
and  the  civilization  of  their  white  neighbors. 
King  Philip's  War,  however,  interrupted  the 
missions.  Many  of  the  Indians  lost  their  lives 
during  the  war.  Those  who  remained  had  be- 
come discouraged,  and  to  a  degree  demoralized. 
After  that  time,  the  native  tribes  were  scat- 
tered among  the  more  distant  tribes,  and  the 
Indian  never  appeared  again  as  an  important 


CLAIMS  OF  THE   COLONISTS. 


factor   in  the  population  of  southern  New  Eng- 
land.1 

At  that  time  there  was  a  very  friendly  feeling 
between  the  English  Puritans  and  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  and  much  of  the  money  which 
was  used  in  carrying  forward  missions  among  the 
Indians,  and  in  printing  Bibles  for  them  came 
from  England.  But  there  were  questions  arising 
from  time  to  time  as  to  the  authority  which  the 
English  government  had  over  the  Colonies,  which 
it  was  very  difficult  to  settle.  In  1643,  the  Com- 
mons passed  an  ordinance  freeing  New  England 
from  taxation  "  until  the  House  should  take 
further  order."  But  in  the  same  year  Parlia- 
ment appointed  a  Board  of  Commissioners  to 
have  charge  of  the  administration  of  the  Colonies. 
It  was  claimed  by  the  people  of  Mas-  claims  of  the 
sachusetts  that,  under  their  charter,  Colonists- 
they  had  exclusive  authority  to  maintain  local 
government,  so  long  as  their  laws  did  not  con- 
travene the  laws  of  England.  They  even  claimed 
the  right  to  control  their  harbors.  When  the 
master  of  a  vessel  commissioned  by  Parliament 
threatened  to  capture  a  ship  in  the  King's  ser- 
vice in  Boston  Harbor,  Winthrop  ordered  the 
master  to  come  on  shore,  and  forbade  him  to 
meddle  with  any  ship  in  the  harbor.2  The  Gen- 

1  See  the  chapter  in    this  volume   entitled   "John    Eliot,   the 
Apostle  to  the  Indians." 

2  Winthrop,  ii.  194.     Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts,  ii.  121. 


164  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

eral  Court  sent  a  petition  to  the  Parliament 
praying  "  that  no  such  attempt  may  be  made 
hereafter  upon  any  ships  in  our  harbors,  or  of 
any  of  our  confederates  in  New  England." 
These  acts  came  very  near  to  a  claim  to  inde- 
pendence of  the  Mother  Country.  When  cer- 
tain parties  presented  to  the  Parliament  an 
appeal  from  the  action  of  the  General  Court, 
Mr.  Edward  Winslow  of  Plymouth,  a  skilful 
diplomatist,  was  sent  to  England  as  the  agent 
of  Massachusetts,  to  ask  the  Commissioners  for 
Foreign  Plantations  to  "  confirm  our  liberties 
granted  us  by  charter,  by  leaving  delinquents 
to  our  just  proceedings,  and  discountenancing 
our  enemies,  and  disturbers  of  our  peace."  The 
request  of  the  Colonists  was  granted  by  the 
Commissioners,  and  assurances  were  given  that 
their  administration  under  the  charter  should 
not  be  interfered  with.  During  the  time  of  the 
Commonwealth  the  spirit  of  the  English  govern- 
ment was  on  the  whole  friendly  to  New  England. 
The  Colonists  on  their  part  showed  their  good 
will  to  the  government  in  the  Mother  Country, 
while  maintaining  very  firmly  their  own  rights. 

Between  the  years  1651  and  1658,  nearly  the 
entire  territory  of  Maine  came  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  which  had  some  time  be- 
fore acquired  a  title  to  the  settlements  in  New 
Hampshire.  Oliver  Cromwell  had  a  plan  to 


PINE    TREE  SHILLINGS.  165 

transfer  the  people  of  New  England  to  Ireland 
and  to  Jamaica,  and  he  made  them  generous  pro- 
posals to  this  end.1  These  proposals  were  care- 
fully considered,  but  the  people  had  already  come 
to  love  their  new  homes,  and  were  quite  unwilling 
to  leave  them.  In  1651,  the  General  Court  was 
informed  by  Winslow  that  the  Parliament  desired 
that  the  Colony  should  take  out  a  new  patent,  in 
the  name  of  the  new  government  of  England. 
They  replied  that  under  their  present  charter 
they  had  a  right  to  live  "  under  magistrates  of 
their  own  choosing,  and  under  laws  of  their  own 
making,"  and  they  made  it  plain  that  they  had  no 
desire  to  change  their  government.2  In  1652  the 
General  Court  established  a  mint,  and  proceeded 
to  coin  money,  stamping  upon  one  side  of  the 
coin  the  name  Massachusetts  and  a  tree  in  the 
centre,  and  upon  the  other  side  New  England, 
and  the  year  of  the  coinage.  This  coinage  was 
continued  for  more  than  thirty  years. 

In  1660,  Charles  the  Second  became   King  of 
England.     Plans  were  soon  formed   for  sending 
a  Governor  General  to  New  England,     Restoration  of 
witlr  authority  to  govern  the  Colonies     charlesn- 
in  the  name  of  the  King.     The  General  Court, 
however,  sent  an  address  to  the  King,  praying  for 
his  gracious  protection  of  their  religion  and  their 

1  Massachusetts  Colonial  Records,  iv.  (i)  no. 

2  Ibid.,  iv.  (i)  72. 


1 66 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


liberties,  according  to  the  patent  which  they  had 
received  from  his  royal  father.  A  loyal  address 
was  also  sent  to  the  Parliament.  This  was  vir- 
tually a  recognition  of  the  new  government  as 
the  government  of  England  de  facto.  In  1661 
the  King  was  formally  proclaimed  by  order  of 
the  General  Court.  The  Plymouth  Colony,  the 
Colony  of  New  Haven,  and  that  of  Connecticut, 
also  acknowledged  the  King  as  "  the  lawful  King 
of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland,"  ac- 
cording to  the  ancient  form.  The  government 
of  Rhode  Island  joined  with  the  other  Colonies 
in  acknowledging  the  King,  and  ordered  that  all 
writs,  warrants,  and  all  other  public  transactions, 
should  be  issued  in  the  name  of  His  Majesty. 

One  result  of  the  submission  of  the  Colonies  to 
the  King  was  the  granting  of  a  very  liberal  char- 
Royai  charter  ter  to  Connecticut,  which  was  dated 
for  Connecticut.  May  IOj  l662>  jt  included  the  New 

Haven  Colony  within  the  boundaries  of  Connect- 
icut, so  that  the  more  liberal  policy  with  respect 
to  the  suffrage  which  had  been  adopted  by  the 
first  settlers  of  Connecticut  was  extended  over 
the  other  Colony.  The  charter  had  been  secured 
by  John  Winthrop,  Jr.  It  provided  for  a  Gov- 
ernor, Deputy  Governor,  twelve  Assistants,  and  a 
House  of  Deputies,  to  consist  of  two  members 
from  each  town  ;  all  to  be  elected  annually  by  the 
freemen  of  the  Colony.  This  charter  was  received 


CHARTER    TO  RHODE  ISLAND. 


in  Connecticut  *vith  great  icy.  The  General 
Court  committed  it  to  the  custody  of  three  lead- 
ing citizens,  who  were  sworn  to  keep  it  safely. 
They  declared  all  the  laws  and  orders  of  the 
Colony  to  stand  in  full  force,  and  they  proceeded 
at  once  to  assume  jurisdiction  over  the  New 
Haven  Colony.  This  called  forth  a  vigorous 
protest  from  New  Haven.  In  the  end,  however, 
the  General  Court  of  that  Colony  submitted,  un- 
der protest,  to  the  royal  charter,  and  New  Haven 
became  a  part  of  Connecticut.1 

On  the  8th  of  July,  1663,  a  royal  charter  was 
granted  to  the  Colony  of  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantations.  It  was  a  liberal  charter, 
and  was  the  foundation  of  the  government  of 
Rhode  Island  for  a  hundred  and  eighty  years. 
It  contained  this  provision,  which  must  have  been 
very  acceptable  to  Roger  Williams  :  "  No  person 
within  the  said  Colony,  at  any  time  thereafter, 
shall  be  any  wise  molested,  punished,  disquieted, 
or  called  in  question,  for  any  differences  of 
opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  which  do  not  actu- 
ally disturb  the  civil  peace  of  the  said  Colony  ; 
but  that  all  and  every  person  may  freely  and 
fully  have  and  enjoy  his  and  their  own  judg- 
ments and  consciences  in  matters  of  religious 
concernments."  2 


1  Colonial  Records  of  New  Haven,  ii.  551-557. 

2  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  i.  281. 


1  68  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

This  charter  was  received  with  great  joy  in 
Rhode  Island.  The  next  spring  the  new  govern- 
ment was  inaugurated,  and  the  officers  were 
elected  under  the  charter.  From  that  time  this 
Colony  had  a  stable  government,  and  enjoyed  a 
good  measure  of  prosperity.  It  had  in  1663  a 
population  of  between  three  and  four  thousand 
people. 


v/ 

NOX/'     AMONG  the  weaknesses  and  inconsistencies  of 

\^f/  the   Puritans,  we  must  place  their  treatment  of 

L  Jyjjr        The  Quakers  in     those  who  differed  with  them.     They 

were  very  earnest  in  claiming  liberty 
for  themselves,  but  the  majority  of  them  were 
not  willing  to  concede  the  same  liberty  to  others. 
The  people  who  call  themselves  Friends,  and 
who  are  known  by  others  as  Quakers,  have  won 
for  themselves  in  our  day  the  confidence  and 
good  will  of  the  world.  They  are  quiet  and  use- 
ful citizens,  and  sincere  Christians.  They  have 
been  the  consistent  opponents  of  slavery  and  of 
war.  The  sect  originated  in  England  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  George  Fox 
was  reputed  to  be  its  founder.  It  spread  rapidly 
among  the  people.  Its  leaders  claimed  to  have 
direct  revelations  from  Heaven,  and  its  members 
all  professed  to  be  guided  by  an  "inner  light," 
which  directed  them  in  all  their  lives.  They 


THE    QUA  KERS  IN  MA  SSA  CHUSE  TTS.  169. 

adopted  a  peculiar  style  of  dress  and  of  speech. 
In  the  earlier  years  they  were  undoubtedly  severe 
and  denunciatory  in  their  treatment  of  those  who 
did  not  follow  their  teachings.  They  aroused 
opposition  by  their  charges  against  rulers  and 
judges.  In  England  they  were  whipped,  and  set 
in  the  pillory,  and  were  often  mobbed.  At  one 
time  as  many  as  four  thousand  of  them  were 
in  English  jails.  But  the  more  they  were  perse- 
cuted, the  more  rapidly  their  numbers  increased. 
They  sent  missionaries  to  other  lands  to  preach 
their  tenets,  who  had  less  success  than  those  in 
England.  .^ 

The  authorities  of  Massachusetts  were  on\ 
the  watch  for  them  in  1654.  They  remem- 
bered the  troubles  which  had  come  from  the 
Antinomian  debates,  and  they  dreaded  the  re- 
newal of  the  controversy.  Before  any  Quakers 
reached  the  Colony,  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
was  appointed  in  view  of  the  danger  from  the 
errors  that  abounded,  and  especially  the  danger 
from  the  Quakers.  The  day  was  hardly  past 
before  two  Quaker  women  from  Barbados  were 
landed  in  Boston.  The  magistrates  sent  them 
back  by  the  same  vessel  that  had  brought  them. 
These  had  but  just  left  Boston  when  Quakers  in 
eight  other  Quakers  arrived  from  Massachusetts^ 
England.  They  were  promptly  taken  to  jail, 
and  after  eleven  weeks  of  confinement  they  were 


THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


sent  back  to  England  in  the  vessel  that  had 
brought  them.  While  these  Quakers  were  de- 
tained in  prison,  the  Federal  Commissioners 
proposed  to  the  General  Courts  of  all  the  Colo- 
nies that  all  Quakers,  and  other  notorious  here- 
tics, should  be  forbidden  to  come  into  any  of 
the  Colonies,  and  that  if  any  should  find  their 
way  into  any  Colony  they  should  be  removed 
forthwith  out  of  the  jurisdiction.1  Each  of  the 
Confederated  Colonies  acted  upon  this  recom- 
mendation. Connecticut  imposed  a  fine  of  five 
pounds  a  week  upon  every  town  that  should  en- 
tertain Quakers,  or  other  heretics;  and  directed 
magistrates  to  commit  them  to  prison  until  they 
could  be  sent  out  of  the  jurisdiction.  New 
Action  of  other  Haven  and  Plymouth  enacted  simi- 
coionies.  lar  laws.  Plymouth  forbade  the  hold- 

1656-57.  .  *  W    i 

mg  ot  Quaker  meetings  by  strangers 
or  others.2  Massachusetts  imposed  a  fine  of  one 
hundred  pounds  upon  shipmasters  who  should 
bring  into  the  jurisdiction  any  of  the  heretics 
commonly  called  Quakers,  "  who  write  blasphe- 
mous opinions,  despising  government  and  the 
order  of  God  in  Church  and  Commonwealth  ; 
speaking  evil  of  dignities,  reviling  magistrates 
and  ministers,  seeking  to  turn  the  people  from 
the  faith."3  They  also  required  such  shipmas- 

1  Records  in  Hazard,  ii.  349. 

2  Brigham,  Compact  with  the  Charter,  etc.,  102-104. 
8  Massachusetts  Records,  iv.  (i)  277. 


LA  WS   A  GAINST  QUAKERS.  I  7  I 

ters  to  give  security  for  returning  such  pas- 
sengers to  the  port  from  whence  they  came.  It 
was  also  enacted  that  Quakers  who  should  find 
entrance  to  the  Colony  should  be  whipped  and 
committed  to  the  house  of  correction,  and  kept 
constantly  at  work,  and  prevented  from  holding 
communication  with  any  person  while  in  confine- 
ment. Heavy  fines  were  imposed  upon  those 
who  should  have  in  their  possession  Quaker 
books,  or  who  should  defend  their  opinions.1 

These  enactments  show  the  excitement  and 
the  terror  of  the  Colonists.  One  can  hardly 
comprehend  why  Colonies  of  some  forty  thou- 
sand intelligent  Englishmen  should  have  been 
thrown  into  a  panic  by  the  apprehension  that  a 
few  Quaker  missionaries  would  come  among 
them.  The  severe  laws  were  quite  ineffectual. 
The  Quakers  came,  and  suffered  the  penalties 
prescribed  by  the  laws.  Several  of  them  were 
women.  They  were  fined,  and  imprisoned,  and 
scourged.  The  laws  were  made  more  severe. 
The  fines  were  increased.  It  was  enacted  that 
Quakers  who  should  return  after  having  been 
once  punished  should  have  their  ears  cut  off, 
according  to  the  custom  in  England  at  that 
time.  Finally,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Federal  Commissioners,  it  was  enacted  in  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1658,  that,  if  any  Quaker  should 

1  The  Puritan,  174,  175. 


172  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

return  to  the  Colony  after  having  been  banished, 
he  should  be  put  to  death.  This  law  met  with 
decided  opposition  in  the  House  of  Deputies, 
and  was  finally  passed  by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 
•There  is  good  reason  for  the  opinion  that  a  de- 
cided majority  of  the  people  in  the  Colony  never 
approved  this  law.  A  year  after  it  was  enacted, 
two  men,  William  Robinson  and  Marmaduke 
Stevenson,  who  had  come  into  the  jurisdiction 
expressly  to  defy  the  law,  were  publicly  executed 
on  Boston  Common,  in  accordance  with  its  pro- 
visions. Mary  Dyer,  who  had  been  condemned 
to  death  at  the  same  time,  was  reprieved  at  the 
foot  of  the  gallows,  and  committed  to  the  care 
of  her  son,  who  took  her  to  her  home  in  Provi- 
dence. The  next  year  she  returned  to  Massa- 
chusetts, and  was  again  condemned  to  death. 
A  pardon  was  offered  her  on  condition  that  she 
would  depart  and  promise  to  remain  away  from 
the  Colony,  but  she  refused  to  give  the  promise. 
"In  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Lord  I  came," 
she  said,  "and  in  His  will  I  will  abide  faithful 
unto  death."  And  so  she  died.  A  few  months 
later,  William  Ledra  was  sentenced  to  death 
under  the  same  law.  He  also  was  offered  a 
pardon  if  he  would  depart  from  the  Colony  never 
to  return,  but  he  refused  the  offer,  and  the  pen- 
alty was  inflicted  upon  him. 

The   execution   of   these  four  willing  victims 


FAULTS  OF  THE  QUAKERS.  173 

gave  the  victory  to  the  Quakers.  The  reaction 
against  the  law  among  the  people  was  so  strong 
that  it  was  soon  modified.  Later,  this  law  be- 
came a  dead  letter,  and  finally  it  was  repealed. 
A  little  earlier  the  magistrates  of  the  Colonies 
received  a  message  from  the  King  requiring 
them  to  stop  the  punishment  of  the  Quakers, 
and  to  send  them  to  England  for  trial.  They 
promised  to  obey  the  mandate,  but  no  Quakers 
were  sent  to  England  for  trial.  Those  who  had 
been  imprisoned  were  set  at  liberty,  however, 
and  there  was  less  energy  in  the  execution  of 
the  law.  After  that  time  no  severe  punishments 
were  inflicted.  The  Quakers  continued  to  give 
unreasonable  provocation  to  their  persecutors. 
They  would  sometimes  hoot  at  the  magistrates 
in  the  streets.  They  sometimes  disturbed  the 
congregations  during  the  hours  of  public  wor- 
ship, in  order  to  give  their  testimony  against 
them.  One  of  them  came  into  the  meeting- 
house in  Boston,  and  broke  two  glass  bottles 
which  he  had  in  his  hands,  exclaiming,  "  Thus 
will  the  Lord  break  you  in  pieces."  Deborah 
Wilson,  a  "young  woman  of  modest  and  quiet 
life,"  was  constrained  by  her  convictions  of  duty 
to  go  naked  through  the  streets  of  Salem  "as  a 
sign  unto  the  people."  Another  "  young  and 
chaste  woman"  went  into  the  church  in  New- 
bury  without,  any  clothes,  as  "  a  sign  to  them." 


174  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

In  such  ways  as  these  the  Quakers  deprived 
themselves  of  much  of  the  sympathy  which  they 
had  excited  by  their  fortitude  under  suffering. 
On  the  whole,  they  made  an  extremely  small 
number  of  converts  among  the  people  in  New 
England.  This  showed  how  unnecessary  were 
the  severe  measures  that  had  been  adopted 
against  them.  Roger  Williams,  the  President 
of  Rhode  Island,  was  far  wiser,  when  he  replied 
to  the  request  of  the  Federal  Commissioners 
that  the  Quakers  should  be  excluded  from  his 
Colony  :  "  We  have  no  law  amongst  us  whereby 
to  punish  any  for  only  declaring  by  words  their 
minds  concerning  the  things  and  ways  of  God, 
as  to  salvation,  and  our  eternal  condition.  .  .  . 
We  find  that  where  the  Quakers  are  suffered  to 
declare  themselves  freely,  and  only  opposed  by 
arguments,  there  they  least  of  all  desire  to  come. 
.  .  .  Any  breach  of  law  shall  be  punished,"  he  de- 
clared, "  but  the  freedom  of  different  consciences 
shall  be  respected." 

There  were  Baptists  in  Massachusetts  in 
1644,  and  they  seemed  likely  to  become  more 
persecution  of  numerous.  A  law  was  enacted  that 
me  aptists.  they  should  be  banished.1  At  the  ' 
time  when  the  law  was  passed,  the  Presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College  denied  the  lawful- 
ness of  infant  baptism,  and  his  successor  held 

1  Massachusetts  Records,  ii.  85. 


L  A  WS  A  GA  INS  T   THE  BA  P  TIS  TS.  175 

that  immersion  was  essential  to  the  rite.1  *For 
a  long  time  the  law  was  a  dead  letter.  A  con- 
gregation of  Baptists  was  organized  in  Charles- 
town.  Five  of  them  were  disfranchised  in  1665, 
and  two  were  sent  to  prison,  where  they  re- 
mained nearly  a  year.  They  renewed  their  meet- 
ings after  their  release,  and  three  of  them  were 
sentenced  to  banishment.  A  petition  against 
this  severe  measure  was  signed  by  several  in- 
fluential citizens  of  the  Colony,  and  presented 
to  the  magistrates.  After  this  time  the  Baptist 
congregation  held  its  meetings  for  a  long  time 
on  Noddle's  Island  in  Boston  Harbor.  In  1668 
there  was  a  public  debate  in  the  meeting-house 
in  Boston  which  lasted  two  days,  between  the 
Baptists  on  the  one  hand  and  six  ministers  of 
the  churches  on  the  other.  Two  months  later 
three  leading  Baptists  were  banished  from  the 
Colony,  and  forbidden  to  return.  There  was  a 
strong  remonstrance  presented  from  a  number 
of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  Colony,  and 
another  from  thirteen  English  ministers,  against 
these  punishments.  These  things  show  that  the 
days  of  persecution  in  New  England  were  draw- 
ing toward  the  end.  The  sentence  of  banish- 
ment was  never  executed,  and  the  church  on 
Noddle's  Island  continued  to  meet  for  worship 
on  the  Lord's  day.  Five  years  later  they  began 

1  Palfrey,  ii.  349. 


176  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

to  hold  their  services  in  Boston.  A  few  years 
afterwards  the  agents  of  the  Colony  in  England 
were  able  to  declare  that  "as  for  the  Anabaptists, 
they  are  now  subject  to  no  other  penal  statutes 
than  those  of  the  Congregational  way." 

The  belief  in  witchcraft  was  almost  universal 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  not  only  in  New  Eng- 

*n    Great    Britain,    and   in 


witchcraft 

all  the  countries  of    Europe.     Many 

thousands  in  those  countries  had  been  tried  for 
witchcraft,  and  put  to  death  by  drowning,  or 
hanging,  or  burning.  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  Chief 
Justice  of  England,  said  in  a  charge  to  the  jury, 
in  the  case  of  two  persons  on  trial  for  witchcraft 
in  1665,  "  That  there  are  such  creatures  of  witches 
I  make  no  doubt  at  all."  l  Other  eminent  men 
of  that  century  expressed  similar  opinions  with 
equal  confidence.  Governor  Winthrop  makes 
frequent  references  to  witchcraft  in  his  Journal, 
and  he  evidently  regarded  it  as  a  reality.  He 
mentions  that  in  March,  1647,  a  person  whom 
he  does  not  name  was  executed  at  Hartford  as 
a  witch.  The  next  year,  he  relates  that  Margaret 
Jones  of  Charlestown  was  convicted,  and  exe- 
cuted for  witchcraft.  A  few  years  later,  Mrs. 
Anne  Hibbins,  the  widow  of  a  leading  citizen, 

1  State  Trials,  vi.  687.  Prof.  Fisher's  History  of  the  Christian 
Church,  479-483.  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Article  Witchcraft 
The  Puritan,  176,  177,  196-234. 


WITCHCRAFT. 


177 


was  convicted  of  witchcraft,  and  suffered  death. 
There  were  two  prosecutions  for  witchcraft  in 
Plymouth,  but  in  both  instances  the  accused 
were  acquitted  by  the  jury.  These  prosecutions 
seem  to  have  occurred  in  the  ordinary  admin- 
istration of  the  law,  without  any  special  excite- 
ment. The  people  took  it  for  granted  that  there 
were  people  among  them  who  had  dealings  with 
the  Evil  One.  They  read  in  their  English  Bibles, 
"  Thou  shalt  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live,"  and  they 
assumed  that  they  were  competent  to  discover 
the  witches.  And  yet  during  the  first  sixty  years 
in  the  history  of  New  England,  the  charges  of 
witchcraft  were  very  few. 

In  the  years  1691  and  1692  occurred  the  famous\  jA$&»+ 
epidemic  of  folly  and   cruelty  known  as  Salem  \    O(J^ 
Witchcraft.     It   came   at   a   time  of     Saiem  witch- 
general  depression  in  Massachusetts.     craft- 
The  people  had  been  through  a  period  of  great 
political  excitement.     They  had  lost  the  charter 
by  which  they  had  been  guided  and    protected 
from  the  beginning.     The  religious  spirit  in  the 
churches  was  much  below  the  mark  of   earlier 
years.     The  age  of  faith  seemed  to  have  given 
place  to  an  age  of  doubt.      It  was  a  favorable 
time  for  the  revival  of  superstition :  and  it  came 
with  the  power  of  a  cyclone. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  incidents 
of  the    catastrophe.     There  was  an  astonishing// 


12 


1 78 


THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


number  of  charges  of  witchcraft  in  Salem.'  A 
hundred  persons  were  in  jail  under  the  charge  at 
one  time.  The  new  royal  Governor  convened  a 
special  Court  for  the  trial  of  the  accused.  He 
exceeded  his  authority  in  so  doing.  The  accused 
were  all  tried  by  juries.  The  evidence  was  of  no 
value  at  all  to  people  who  were  in  their  senses. 
Yet  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  twenty  per- 
sons, some  of  them  venerable  for  their  years  and 
eminent  for  their  virtues,  were  adjudged  guilty  of 
witchcraft,  and  were  put  to  death.  The  madness 
was  over  in  a  few  months.  For  a  time  there  were 
new  charges,  and  new  trials.  But  juries  could  not 
be  found  who  would  convict  on  such  testimony  as 
was  presented.  A  little  later  the  judges  who  had 
been  engaged  in  the  trials  began  to  make  confes- 
sion of  their  folly  and  wickedness.  The  jurors 
also  began  to  regain  their  senses,  and  to  confess 
that  they  were  guilty  of  the  blood  of  their  inno- 
cent neighbors.  Some  of  the  ministers  who  had 
encouraged  the  prosecutions  came  to  a  clear 
sense  of  the  wickedness  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ing, and  made  public  acknowledgment  of  their 
errors.  After  the  sad  experiences  at  Salem,  there 
was  a  final  end  of  the  delusion  in  the  Puritan 
Colonies,  though  it  lingered  in  England  many 
years  longer. 


KING  PHILIP'S   WAR.  179 


XVII 

AMONG  the  stirring  events  in  the  later  history 
of  the  Puritan  Colonies  was  King  Philip's  War. 
The  events  in  this  war  will  be  nar-     King mmp's 
rated  in  the  section   relating  to  the     War< 
work  of  the  Apostle  Eliot.     One  of  the  results 
of   the  war  was  the   crippling   of   the    missions 
which  that  devoted  man  had  planted. 

For  thirty-eight  years  there  had  been  no  war 
between  the  Colonists  and  the  red  men.  Ong 
reason  was  the  terrible  punishment  which  the 
white  men  had  inflicted  upon  the  Pequots  when 
they  entered  the  war  path.  But  a  stronger  rea- 
son was  the  kindness  and  justice  with  which  the 
Colonists  had  dealt  with  the  Indians.  Every  foot 
of  land  which  had  been  occupied  in  the  different 
Colonies  had  been  purchased  and  paid  for.  The 
only  exception  to  this  statement  was  the  compara- 
tively small  territory  conquered  during  the  Pequot 
war.  The  shield  of  the  law  was  over  the  natives, 
and  those  who  had  wronged  them  were  apt  to  be 
brought  to  justice.  The  trade  in  furs  and  other 
commodities  which  the  Indians  had  to  sell  had 
enabled  them  to  live  much  more  comfortably  than 
before  the  English  came  to  the  country.  The 
Indians  gained  much  from  the  examples  of  in- 
dustry and  economy  in  their  civilized  neighbors. 
The  missionaries  had  gathered  some  thousands  of 


i8o 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


them  into  reservations  which  had  been  set  apart 
for  the  exclusive  use  of  tr?e  Indians.  There  they 
had  been  taught  the  civilization  and  the  religion 
of  the  Colonists.  Many  of  them  had  comfortable 
dwellings,  and  productive  farms  and  orchards. 
Some  thousands  had  been  taught  to  read  and 
write.  They  had  educated  teachers  and  preachers 
of  their  own  race.  Vigorous  efforts  were  made 
from  year  to  year  to  extend  these  advantages  to 
the  larger  tribes,  which  were  still  living  as  their 
ancestors  had  lived.  On  the  part  of  the  whites 
there  was  a  genuine  desire  to  win  their  savage 
neighbors  to  the  habits  of  civilized  life. 

The  time  came  when  the  powerful  tribes  of 
southern  New  England  combined  under  King 
Philip  to  exterminate  the  Colonists,  and  to  free 
themselves  from  the  restraints  of  a  civilization  that 
was  irksome  to  them.  Many  of  the  Indians  had 
by  that  time  provided  themselves  with  firearms, 
and  they  had  learned  much  of  the  art  of  war. 
It  was  a  very  formidable  conspiracy  which  the 
Colonists  had  to  face  in  1675.  They  were 
thoroughly  united  against  the  common  enemy. 
Losses  of  the  They  met  with  heavy  losses  during 
colonists.  the  contest.  In  Plymouth  and  Massa- 

chusetts ten  or  twelve  towns  had  been  entirely 
destroyed,  and  forty  others  more  or  less  injured 
by  fire,  making  more  than  half  the  whole  number. 
One  in  ten  of  the  men  of  military  age,  five  or  six 


LOSSES  .OF  THE   COLONISTS.  l8l 

hundred  in  all,  had  been  slain  in  battle,  or  had 
been  murdered  at  their  own  homes.  There  was 
hardly  a  family  that  was  not  in  mourning.  Large 
sums  of  money  had  been  expended,  and  the  people 
were  burdened  with  debt  when  the  war  was  over. 
It  was  many  years  before  the  Colonists  recovered 
from  the  losses  which  the  war  had  brought  them. 
It  is  pleasant  to  record  that  a  gift  of  a  thousand 
pounds  was  sent  "  by  divers  Christians  in  Ireland 
to  such  as  were  impoverished,  distressed,  and  in 
necessity  by  the  late  war."1  But  no  such  aid 
came  from  the  King  or  his  court.  No  such  aid 
was  solicited  by  the  Colonists.  It  was  a  true 
saying  of  one  of  their  friends  in  England  at  that 
time,  that  they  were  "  poor  and  yet  proud." 2 


XVIII 

DURING  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second  the 
English   government   was    less    friendly   to    the 
Colonists    than    during   the   time    of 
the  Commonwealth.    One  reason  may     Royal commis- 
have   been  that  two  of  the   regicide 
judges  who  had  sat  in  the  court  which  condemned 
Charles  the  First  to  death  had  escaped  to  New 
England,  and  were  known  to  be  secreted  among 
the    Colonists.     Mr.    John    Davenport    of    New 

1  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  ii.  304. 

2  Hutchinson's  History,  i.  279. 


182 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


Haven  received  them  to  his  own  house,  and 
preached  a  very  bold  sermon,  in  which  he  ad- 
vised his  people  to  receive  the  Regicides,  and  aid 
them  as  far  as  possible.1  It  was  well  known  in 
England  that  the  people  of  New  England  were 
not  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of  the  monarchy, 
although  they  had  submitted  to  it,  as  an  accom- 
plished fact,  and  had  proclaimed  the  new  King. 

In  July,  1664,  there  arrived  in  Boston  four 
Commissioners  from  the  King,  sent  over  to 
visit  the  several  Colonies,  to  receive  such  com- 
plaints and  appeals  as  should  be  presented  to 
them,  and  to  provide  for  the  peace  and  security 
of  the  country,  according  to  their  discretion. 
They  came  with  a  fleet  of  four  ships  of  war,  and 
four  hundred  troops  of  the  royal  army.  These 
were  the  first  vessels  of  the  English  navy  that  had 
ever  been  seen  in  the  harbor  of  Boston.  There 
was  less  talk  of  armed  resistance  than  there  had 
been  ten  years  before,  when  Charles  the  First 
proposed  to  send  a  Royal  Governor  to  Boston,  be- 
cause the  kingdom  was  now  tolerably  well  united, 
and  the  Colonies  would  have  no  chance  in  a  con- 
test with  the  power  of  England.  The  King  de- 
sired to  have  the  Colonies  take  out  new  charters, 
which  would  give  to  him  the  appointment  of  the 
governors  and  the  command  of  the  militia.  He 
also  desired  to  take  possession  of  the  Dutch 

1  Bacon's  Historical  Discourses,  1838. 


THE  ROYAL   COMMISSIONERS.  183 

settlement  at  New  Amsterdam,  by  force  of  arms, 
if  necessary. 

The  expedition,  with  some  aid  from  the  Col- 
onies, proceeded  to  New  Amsterdam,  took  pos- 
session of  the  place  with  little  opposition,  and 
changed  its  name  to  New  York.  The  Federal 
Commissioners  met  that  year  in  Hartford,  and 
modified  the  Articles  of  Confederation  so  as  to 
adapt  them  to  the  changed  conditions  on  account 
of  the  union  of  New  Haven  with  Connecticut. 
It  was  now  a  Confederation  of  three  Colonies 
instead  of  four. 

The  Royal  Commissioners  made  their  first  offi- 
cial visit  to  Plymouth,  where  they  were  received 
with  the  respect  due  to  their  rank. 

*  The  Royal 

They  proposed  that  the  oath  of  alle-    commissioners 

1111        ,1  i_         ii    i  in  tlie  Colonies. 

giance  should  be  taken  by  all  house- 
holders ;  that  all  men  of  competent  estates  should 
be  admitted  to  be  freemen;  that  all  laws  deroga- 
tory to  the  King  should  be  repealed;  and  also  that 
the  Lord's  Supper  should  be  open  to  all  persons 
of  orthodox  opinions,  competent  knowledge,  and 
moral  life,  either  in  the  churches  already  existing, 
or  in  congregations  of  their  own.  All  these  pro- 
posals were  readily  agreed  to  except  the  last ;  in 
regard  to  which  the  officers  of  the  Colony  said 
that  they  should  expect  those  who  desired  to 
found  churches  different  from  those  now  exist- 
ing to  continue  to  contribute  their  due  proportion 


1 84 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


towards  the  support  of  the  ministers,  until  such 
time  as  they  should  have  ministers  of  their  own. 

The  Commissioners  were  also  well  received  in 
Rhode  Island.  While  there  they  issued  some  very 
arbitrary  orders  for  changing  the  boundaries  of 
the  Colony,  which  awakened  much  opposition. 
Among  the  people  in  Connecticut  they  were  re- 
ceived with  respect,  and  the  authorities  were 
quite  ready  to  adopt  the  measures  which  they 
had  proposed  to  the  Colony  of  Plymouth. 

Their  next  visit  was  to  Boston,  where  they  re- 
mained about  one  month.  They  asked  that  the 
law  which  limited  the  franchise  to  members  of 
churches  should  be  repealed.  In  response  to  this 
request,  the  law  was  so  modified  that  at  the  next 
election  seventy  men  who  were  not  members  of 
any  church  within  the  Colony  were  permitted  to 
vote.  The  Commissioners  also  asked  that  all 
persons  who  had  been  guilty  of  treason  (that  is, 
the  Regicides)  should  be  apprehended ;  that  full 
reports  should  be  made  of  the  laws  now  in  force 
in  the  Colony,  and  of  the  provisions  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  people.  They  also  asked  for  a  map 
of  the  territory  which  the  Colony  claimed  under 
the  charter.  These  requests  were  readily  com- 
plied with. 

The  Commissioners  next  attempted  to  hold  a 
Court  for  hearing  appeals  from  the  decisions  of 
the  Colonial  Courts.  The  magistrates  informed 


THE  COURT  OF  APPEAL.  185 

them  that  the  charter  of  the  Colony  gave  to  the 
officers  of  the  Colony  power  to  hear  and  try  all 
such  cases,  and  that  such  a  Court  of  Appeal  as 
they  proposed  to  set  up  would  be  a  violation  of 
the  chartered  rights  of  the  Colony.  But  the 
Commissioners  gave  public  notice  that  they 
should  hold  a  session,  at  nine  o'clock  the  follow- 
ing day,  at  a  place  which  they  designated,  to 
hear  and  determine  an  appeal  from  the  decision 
of  the  magistrates.  But  the  hearing  was  not 
permitted  to  take  place.  At  eight  o'clock  of  the 
next  day,  a  messenger  of  the  General  Court  took 
his  stand  at  the  place  appointed  for  the  hearing, 
and  published,  with  sound  of  trumpet,  a  procla- 
mation of  the  General  Court,  which  denounced 
the  intended  act  of  the  Commissioners  as  a 
usurpation,  and  declared  that  they  could  not 
consent  to  it,  nor  give  it  their  approval. 

The  Commissioners  saw  themselves  to  be  help- 
less in  the  presence  of  this  resolute  assertion  of 
the  rights  of  the  Colonists  under  their  charter. 
They  were  confronted  in  1665,  in  the  town  of 
Boston,  by  the-same  spirit  of  liberty  which  led 
to  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  and  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  a  little  more  than  a  century 
later.  They  soon  departed  from  Boston  and  con- 
tinued their  journey  to  New  Hampshire  and 
Maine.  They  afterwards  returned  for  a  short 
time  to  Boston,  but  failed  to  accomplish  any* 


i86 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


thing  there.  The  King  recalled  the  Commis- 
sioners the  next  year,  and  required  the  Colony 
to  send  four  persons  to  represent  them  in  Eng- 
land before  His  Majesty. 

The  next  General  Court  "  gave  diligent  at- 
tention to  the  preparation  of  military  defences." 
They  also  informed  the  King  that  it  would  be 
useless  for  them  to  send  representatives  to  Eng- 
land, and  that  they  could  only  commit  their 
cause  to  God,  "  praying  that  His  Majesty  (a 
prince  of  so  great  clemency)  will  consider  the 
condition  of  his  afflicted  subjects,  being  in  im- 
minent danger  by  the  public  enemies  of  our  na- 
tion, and  in  a  wilderness  far  remote  from  relief."1 

The  General  Court  also  sent  a  present  to  the 
King  of  masts  for  the  royal  navy,  which  had 
cost  the  Colony  two  thousand  pounds.  This 
peace  offering  was  very  gratefully  received  in 
England,  and  was  of  great  service  in  equipping 
the  navy  for  the  war  with  France. 

The  Federal  Commissioners  met  at  Hartford 
in  1667,  representing  only  the  three  Colonies  of 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut.  Mr. 
Leete  of  Connecticut  was  President  of  the  Con- 
gress. The  next  year  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts  regained  the  control  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Maine,  of  which  it  had  been  deprived  by 
the  action  of  the  Royal  Commissioners.  In 

1  Massachusetts  Records,  iv.  (ii.)  317. 


SPIRIT  OF  THE   COLONISTS.  187 

1674,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  im- 
ported sixty  pieces  of  artillery  and  five  hundred 
firelocks.  They  also  gave  orders  for  the  repair 
of  the  fortifications  of  Boston,  Charlestown, 
Salem,  and  Portsmouth,  commissioned  two  armed 
vessels,  and  placed  a  force  of  about  seven  hun- 
dred men  under  command  of  General  Dennison, 
"  for  the  vindication  of  our  honor,  to  secure 
peaceable  trade  in  the  Sound,  and  to  repress  the 
insolence  of  the  Dutch." 

The  difficulties  between  Charles  the  Second 
and  the  Puritan  Colonists  were  of  such  a  nature 
that  they  were  likely  to  become  greater  rather 
than  less  as  the  years  should  go  by.  The 
Colonists  cherished  the  traditions  of  the  Long 
Parliament,  and  of  the  statesmen  who  had  de- 
posed the  Stuarts  and  had  founded  the  Com- 
monwealth. They  had  established  republican 
governments  on  this  side  of  the  sea,  and  they 
had  been  accustomed  to  elect  their  own  officers 
and  to  make  their  own  laws.  They  were  quite 
willing  to  recognize  their  connection  with  the 
Mother  Country  and  to  swear  allegiance  to  the 
King.  But  they  claimed  their  rights  as  English- 
men under  the  laws  of  England,  and  spirit  of  cuaries 
under  the  charters  which  they  had  ^second, 
received.  On  the  other  hand,  Charles  the  Second 
was  not  the  friend  of  popular  institutions,  either 
in  England  or  America.  He  wished  to  appoint 


i88 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


the  Governors  of  the  Colonies,  and  to  draw 
a  revenue  from  them,  to  have  the  command  of 
their  militia,  and  to  reduce  the  people  to  such 
a  position  that  they  would  be  pliant  under  his 
government. 

After  all  other  plans  had  failed,  it  was  deter- 
mined by  the  King  to  cancel  the  charter  of 
Massachusetts.  In  1682  he  gave  notice  that 
unless  the  concessions  which  he  had  called  for 
were  agreed  to,  he  should  direct  the  Attorney 
General  to  bring  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  in  the 
Court  of  King's  Bench,  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing the  charter  void.  When  this  was  made 
known  in  Boston  a  great  town  meeting  was  held 
in  the  Old  South  meeting-house,  and  the  Mod- 
erator requested  all  who  were  for  surrendering 
the  charter  to  hold  up  their  hands.  Not  a  hand 
was  lifted,  and  then  one  of  the  old  Puritans  ex- 
claimed, "  The  Lord  be  praised."  1  The  House 
of  Deputies,  after  full  consideration,  also  refused 
to  surrender  the  charter,  and  on  the  2ist  of 
June,  1684,  the  English  Court  of  Chancery,  to 
which  the  business  had  been  transferred,  ordered 
judgment  to  be  entered  for  vacating  the  charter. 
This  action  destroyed  the  whole  political  struc- 
ture of  the  Colony,  which  had  been  growing 
for  fifty-four  years,  and  placed  the  people  at  the 
mercy  of  the  King  of  England.  The  titles  to 

1  Beginnings  of  New  England,  265. 


THE   CHARTER  REVOKED.  1 89 

lands  and  other  property  were  disturbed,  and 
the  whole  civil  and  ecclesiastical  administration, 
with  all  rights  and  immunities  based  upon  the 
charter,  were  swept  away. 

It  was  some  time  before  any  orders  came  from 
England  for  setting  up  a  new  government  in 
Massachusetts,  and  in  the  mean  time  the  affairs 
of  the  Colony  were  administered  in  the  ancient 
form.  The  sudden  death  of  Charles  the  Second, 
by  apoplexy,  delayed  still  longer  the  execution 
of  the  decree  of  the  Court  of  Chancery.  James 
the  Second  was  proclaimed  King  in  Boston, 
April  20th,  1685.  In  1686,  a  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment was  set  up  by  the  authority  of  the  King, 
and  the  General  Court  of  the  Colony  abdicated 
the  government,  under  protest.  This  was  the 
last  act  of  the  charter  government  of  the  Colony. 

The  charters  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut were  set  aside  by  a  process  similar  to  that 
employed  against  the  charter  of  Massachusetts. 
Plymouth  had  no  charter.  New  Hampshire  had 
been  constituted  a  royal  Province  in  1679,  with 
a  Governor  and  Councillors  appointed  by  the 
King.  Maine  was  at  that  time  under  a  provis- 
ional government,  appointed  by  Massachusetts; 
so  that  the  whole  of  New  England  was  now  sub- 
ject to  the  control  of  the  King,  and  on  the  2oth 
of  December,  1686,  Sir  Edmund  Andros  arrived 
in  Boston  with  a  royal  commission  as  Governor 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


of  New  England.  His  administration  lasted  two 
years  and  four  months,  and  was  brought  to  an 
end  by  the  intelligence  that  William,  Prince  of 
Orange,  had  landed  in  England.  On  the  iSth 
of  April,  1689,  Boston  was  aroused  by  a  call  to 
arms.  The  signal  fire  was  lighted  on  Beacon 
Hill,  and  the  militia  began  to  pour  in  from  the 
country  towns.  The  Castle  was  surrendered,  an 
English  frigate  in  the  harbor  was  seized,  and 
Governor  Andros  was  arrested  as  he  was  trying 
to  escape  in  woman's  clothes.  Thus  the  Revo- 
lution in  Massachusetts  was  accomplished. 

William  the  Third  was  a  king  of  liberal  prin- 
ciples, and  did  not  desire  to  carry  out  the  plans 
for  depriving  the  people  of  New  England  of  a 
share  in  the  government  of  their  own  Colonies. 
It  was  found  on  examination  that  the  charters 
of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  had  not  been 
legally  annulled,  and  these  Colonies  were  per- 
mitted to  resume  their  old  form  of  government. 
New  Hampshire  continued  to  be  a  royal  Prov- 
ince. The  Old  Colony  of  Plymouth  was  an- 
nexed to  Massachusetts,  and  these  two,  with  the 
district  of  Maine,  made  up  the  Province  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, which  received  a  charter  in  1692 
from  William  and  Mary.  By  the  provisions  of 
the  new  charter,  the  freemen  of  the  Province 
had  the  right  to  elect  the  Legislature,  which  had 
the  power  to  make  laws,  and  to  impose  taxes. 


NEW  ENGLAND  IN  1692. 


The  Governor  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  Crown. 
All  laws  were  to  be  sent  to  England  for  approval. 
A  property  qualification  was  prescribed  for 
admission  to  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  the  old 
restriction  to  members  of  churches  was  swept 
away. 

XIX 

IT  was  seventy-two  years  from  the  beginning 
of  English  settlements  by  the  Pilgrims  at  Ply- 
mouth, when  the  charter  for  the  Prov-  condition  of  New 
ince  of  Massachusetts  was  granted.  England  inl692' 
The  Puritan  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  was 
sixty-four  years  old.  The  population  of  the  New 
England  Colonies  at  that  time  was  probably 
about  seventy-five  thousand.  This  estimate  gives 
forty-five  thousand  to  Massachusetts,  including 
the  Old  Colony  and  the  district  of  Maine,  eigh- 
teen thousand  to  Connecticut,  and  six  thousand 
each  to  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island. 
Boston  was  a  prosperous  commercial  town  of 
five  or  six  thousand  people.  The  settlements 
were  scattered  along  the  coast,  from  the  Penob- 
scot  to  the  Hudson.  The  most  distant  were  a 
hundred  miles  from  tidewater.  There  were  large 
groups  of  towns  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  native 
Indians  had  become  very  few  in  the  southern  half 
of  New  England. 


THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


The  inhabitants  of  the  Colonies  were  still  al- 
most entirely  of  English  blood.  A  large  propor- 
tion of  them  were  religious  people,  who  were 
accustomed  to  conduct  their  religious  worship 
in  the  Congregational  way.  There  wrere  some 
adherents  of  the  Church  of  England.  King's 
Chapel  was  already  standing.  There  were  a  few 
Baptists,  and  a  few  Quakers.  Only  a  small  mi- 
nority of  the  people  at  that  time  were  members 
of  churches,  although  a  large  proportion  of  them 
were  accustomed  to  attend  religious  services  on 
the  Lord's  day.  There  had  already  been  some 
departures  from  the  earlier  Puritan  administra- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  affairs,  as  we  shall  see  when 
we  come  to  the  history  of  the  Great  Awakening. 
The  people  were  for  the  most  part  honest  and 
thrifty  farmers,  of  simple  manners,  who  dwelt  in 
framed  houses,  and  who  were  making  their  farms 
and  orchards  more  valuable  year  by  year.  Much 
of  the  business  connected  with  the  collection  of 
taxes,  police  regulations,  the  care  of  roads  and 
of  schools,  and  the  settlement  and  maintenance 
of  ministers,  was  done  in  the  town  meetings. 
There  were  schools  in  all  the  towns,  except  the 
newest  settlements,  and  these  were  open  to  all 
the  children  of  the  people.  ^  So  far  as  we  have 
any  means  of  information,  a  large  percentage  of 
the  population  in  the  various  Colonies,  of  both 
sexes,  were  able  to  read  and  write. 


SPIRIT  OF  THE   PEOPLE.  I  93 

The  people  of  the  second  and  third  genera- 
tions in  New  England  were  below  those  of  the 
first  generation  in  respect  to  culture  and  refine- 
ment of  manners.  They  had  the  habits  of  those 
who  are  dwelling  on  the  borders  of  civilization. 
And  yet  every  practicable  effort  was  made  to  pre- 
vent the  process  of  deterioration.  Harvard  Col- 
lege was  founded  that  the  congregations  might 
have  men  of  education  for  their  ministers.  The 
common  schools  and  the  grammar  schools  were 
a  means  of  keeping  up  the  intellectual  standard 
among  the  people.  The  Pilgrims  and  Puritans 
were  accustomed  to  speak  of  their  country  as 
more  favored  than  any  other,  and  when  Crom- 
well proposed  to  transfer  them  to  lands  that  had 
an  older  civilization,  no  one  was  willing  to  go. 
The  spirit  of  the  people  of  New  Eng-  spirit  of  the 
land  was  well  expressed  in  the  re-  People* 
markable  book  entitled,  "  The  Wonder  Working 
Providence  of  Zion's  Saviour  in  New  England," 
by  Edward  Johnson  of  Woburn.  It  gives  a 
history  of  the  Colonies  from  1628  to  1651.  It 
represents  the  founders  as  soldiers  of  Christ,  en- 
listed in  a  holy  war,  and  guided  at  every  point 
by  a  divine  hand.  "  The  Lord  Christ,"  the  author 
says,  "  intends  to  achieve  greater  matters  by  this 
little  handful  than  the  world  is  aware  of."  The 
simple  faith  of  the  people  was  shown  very  strik- 
ingly in  times  of  great  trial,  such  as  when  they 

13 


194  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

lost  the  charter  of  Massachusetts.  They  refused 
to  make  any  compromises,  but  left  themselves 
under  the  direction  of  the  Power  which  they 
believed  had  brought  them  to  these  shores. 

In  every  settlement  the  minister  was  the  man 
of  greatest  importance,  unless  there  were  some 
of  the  higher  magistrates  residing  there.  In 
that  case  they  were  the  peers  of  the  ministers. 
The  Puritan  minister  was  a  man  of  education 
and  culture.  His  library,  though  not  large,  was 
adapted  to  his  work  as  a  preacher  and  teacher  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  ministers  were  usu- 
ally well  versed  in  the  original  languages  of  the 
Bible,  and  in  the  works  of  the  Protestant  theo- 
logians. They  published  a  large  number  of  theo- 
logical and  practical  works,  from  which  we  can 
judge  of  their  learning  and  culture.  These  books 
do  not  indicate  that  their  authors  were  familiar 
with  the  early  English  writers,  or  even  with  those 
of  the  age  of  Elizabeth.  They  were  not  literary 
men  in  the  modern  sense.  Of  course  their 
knowledge  of  science  was  quite  limited.  But 
they  knew  a  few  things  well.  Especially  they 
knew  the  Bible.  They  were  gifted  with  remark- 
able spiritual  insight  They  had  trained  them- 
selves to  reason  logically  and  with  convincing 
power.  Many  of  them  had  a  remarkable  knowl- 
edge of  English  history.  There  were  great 
statesmen  among  them,  and  the  General  Court 


LAWS  OF  THE   COLONIES.  I  95 

did  well  to  consult  them  on  the  most  important 
crises  in  the  history  of  the  Colonies. 

In  1672,  the  General  Laws  of  the  Colonies  of 
Massachusetts  and  Plymouth,  and  of  Connecticut, 
were  published.  These  laws  provided  carefully 
for  courts  of  justice,  for  trial  by  jury,  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  crime,  for  the  protection  of  property, 
for  the  registry  of  deeds  and  of  wills,  and  for  the 
administration  of  estates.  There  were  laws  de- 
signed to  restrict  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks, 
and  to  prevent  intemperance.  The  able  bodied 
men  of  the  Colonies  were  enrolled  in  the  militia, 
and  were  frequently  drilled  by  their  officers. 
The  revenue  was  derived  from  direct  taxes  upon 
property.  There  were  regulations  for  shipping 
and  for  commerce.  The  post  office  arrangements 
were  very  incomplete.  We  know  that  certain 
persons  had  been  appointed  to  receive  and  to 
transmit  letters  to  be  sent  beyond  the  seas,  and 
to  deliver  letters  that  had  been  brought  from 
abroad.1  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  had 
been  divided  into  counties. 

Such  systems  of  Jaws  as  these  indicate  that 
the  Colonies  were  already  well  regulated  and 
prosperous  states.  They  show  that  the  rights 
of  the  citizen  were  carefully  respected,  and  that 
the  people  had  the  controlling  influence  in  the 
administration  of  the  government.  The  Pilgrims 

1  Massachusetts  Records,  i.  281. 


THE   PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 


and  the  Puritans  were  successful  in  planting 
Colonies  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  that  have 
grown  in  the  course  of  years  into  free  republics, 
with  intelligent  and  progressive  citizens,  fitted  to 
be  incorporated  into  this  greater  Republic. 


XX 

MORE  than  two  hundred  years  have  gone  by 
since  the  Colonies  came  under  the  reign  of  William 


EX  ansionof  Mary.     At  that  time  a  large  part 

the  Puritan  even  of  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  of 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  was 
unsettled.  In  New  Hampshire  there  were  a  very 
few  towns,  all  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Colony. 
Maine  had  a  few  trading  posts,  and  a  small  num- 
ber of  settlements  on  the  coast.  There  were  no 
settlements  of  white  men  in  the  territory  that  is 
now  Vermont.  The  greater  part  of  Northern 
New  England  was  an  unbroken  wilderness. 

The  Puritan  Colonists  were  about  a  hundred 
years  from  that  time  in  filling  the  vacant  spaces 
in  New  England,  and  in  developing  the  dis- 
tinctive  New  England  character.  In 
Connecticut  about  thirty  towns  were 
incorporated  between  1692  and  1745,  about  as 
many  as  were  in  existence  before  that  date.  In 
1762  all  the  territory  of  that  Colony  had  been 
divided  into  townships,  and  they  were  beginning 


FILLING   UP  NEW  ENGLAND.  I  97 

to  carve  new  towns  out  of  those  already  existing. 
This  process  continued  for  some  time,  as  the 
original  townships  were  too  large  for  the  conveni- 
ence of  the  inhabitants.  Mr.  Bancroft  estimated 
the  population  of  New  England  in  1 755  at  133,000. 
Up  to  that  time,  and  for  fifty  years  longer,  most 
of  the  inhabitants  were  the  descendants  of  the 
original  Colonists.1 

A  similar  process  was  going  on  in  Rhode 
Island  during  the  eighteenth  century,  although 
there  was  a  larger  admixture  of  Rhode  island  and 
families  not  of  the  Puritan  stock.  Massachusetts. 
In  Massachusetts  the  fifty  years  that  followed 
the  time  of  the  witchcraft  delusion  saw  a  great 
enlargement  of  the  territory  under  cultivation. 
A  recent  writer  has  said :  "  It  was  the  great  town- 
planting  epoch  in  New  England  history.  Com- 
panies for  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  new 
townships  were  formed  in  every  considerable 
community.  To  get  more  and  more  land  was 
the  consuming  endeavor  of  the  hour.  The  anti- 
cipatory Western  fever  was  upon  them:  and  to 
get  further  into  the  woods  seemed  a  passion. 
No  modern  Oklahoma  or  Cherokee  strip  invaders 
can  surpass  the  eagerness  of  those  New  Eng- 
landers  of  that  time."2  It  was  in  Massachusetts 

1  American   Commonwealths.     Connecticut.     Alexander  John- 
son, 270. 

3  Religious  Life  in  New  England.     Dr.  G.  L.  Walker,  51-53. 


198  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

the  period  of  expansion.  About  one  hundred  of 
the  towns  of  this  Colony  were  settled  during  this 
period. 

New  Hampshire  was  filled  up  during  the  same 

time  by  people  from  the  other  Puritan  Colonies. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  the 

Hew  Hampshire. 

Revolution  a  large  part  of  that  terri- 
tory was  already  occupied.  In  1719  a  hundred 
and  twenty  Scotch-Irish  families  settled  in  Lon- 
donderry and  elsewhere  in  New  England.  A  few 
French  Huguenots  came  to  New  Hampshire. 
But  the  great  majority  of  the  population  was  of 
the  stock  of  the  English  Puritans. 

The  early  settlers  of  Maine  came  from  a  large 
number  of  places.    There  were  some  towns  where 

the  Scotch- Irish  were  in  the  majority 

a  century  ago,  and  some  of  the  early 
churches  were  Presbyterian.1  Yet  the  largest 
number  of  Colonists  came  from  Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire,  and  they  have  given  their 
distinctive  character  to  the  people  of  Maine. 

When  Vermont  was  opened  for  settlement,  at 
the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  there 

were  many  people  in  Southern  New 

Vermont.  J  1 

England  who  were  eager  to  push 
their  way  into  the  new  and  fertile  lands  of 
the  north.  The  War  of  Independence  delayed 
the  rush  of  settlers  to  the  new  State.  But  as 

1  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  371-388. 


EXODUS   TO   THE    WEST.  1 99 

soon  as  the  war  was  over  the  people  came  in 
large  numbers  from  Western  Massachusetts  and 
from  Connecticut.  The  names  of  Connecticut 
towns  reappeared  in  the  new  settlements  among 
the  Green  Mountains.  There  were  Windsor, 
Wethersfield,  Hartford,  New  Haven,  Walling- 
ford,  Waterbury,  and  many  more.  It  was  com- 
mon at  one  time  to  call  it  New  Connecticut. 
The  early  settlers  took  with  them  the  ideas,  and 
the  institutions,  and  the  religion  of  the  Puritans, 
so  that  when  Vermont  came  into  the  Union  in 
1791,  it  was  another  Puritan  State. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
and  the  organization  of  the  national  government 
there  was  the  beginning  of  the  memorable  Puri- 
tan Exodus  to  the  West.  Central  and  Western 
New  York  were  settled  very  largely  from  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut.  A  large  number  went 
from  Vermont  into  Northern  New  York.  The 
Wyoming  valley,  and  some  other  parts  of  Penn- 
sylvania, were  settled  from  Connecticut.  In  1 788 
a  party  of  New  England  people  began  a  settle- 
ment at  Marietta,  Ohio.  So  many  people  from 
Connecticut  went  into  the  Western  Reserve  that 
this  also  gained  the  name  of  New  Connecticut.  It 
was  found  from  the  census  of  1850  that  forty-five 
per  cent  of  the  people  living  in  the  six  States  of 
Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  Wis- 
consin were  natives  of  New  England,  or  of  the 


2OO  THE  PURITAN  AS  A    COLONIST. 

States  where  the  New  England  element  in  the 
population  preponderated.1  The  sons  of  the 
Puritans  have  given  character  to  those  States, 

Hew  England  s°  that  they  are  to-day  the  New  Eng- 
intlie  West.  jand  Qf  the  Wegt 

As  one  journeys  farther  west  he  finds  a  great 
many  people  of  Puritan  blood  in  the  States  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region  and  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  public  men  who  have 
had  a  leading  part  in  moulding  the  educational, 
social,  and  religious  institutions  of  those  States 
had  their  training  in  New  England. 

There  was  only  one  college  in  the  Puritan 
Colonies  in  1691,  and  many  of  the  people  in  the 
distant  towns  were  accustomed  to  contribute  reg- 
ularly towards  its  support.  Yale  was  founded  a  lit- 
tle later.  Williams,  and  Dartmouth,  and  Bowdoin, 
and  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  Middlebury, 
and  Amherst,  are  all  daughters  of  Harvard  and 
Yale.  The  scores  of  colleges  and  universities 
in  the  newer  States  are  near  of  kin  to  these. 

The  Greater  New  England  stretches  from  ocean 
to  ocean.  The  hopes  of  the  founders  have  been 
realized,  not  only  in  the  small  States  which  grew 
up  under  their  intellectual  and  religious  influence, 
but  in  the  greater  Commonwealths  that  have  been 
moulded  by  their  descendants.  The  last  census 

1  Congregational  Quarterly,  1861,  pp.  20,  21. 


MISSION  OF  NEW  ENGLAND.  2OI 

shows  that  even  as  late  as  1890  more  than  a 
quarter  of  those  who  were  born  in  New  England 
were  living  outside  of  New  England.  These 
Eastern  States  are  even  now  the  places  where 
the%  great  scholars  and  divines,  the  authors  and 
statesmen  of  the  nation,  have  had  their  education. 
They  are,  like  the  small  states  of  Greece,  the 
training  schools  for  the  artists  and  poets  and 
philosophers  of  the  world. 


Ill 

John  Eliot,  The  Apostle  to  the 
Indians 


John  Eliot,  the  Apostle  to  the 
Indians 


Puritan  was  a  many-sided  man.  The 
JL  Puritan  divines  were  in  many  respects 
the  best  representatives  of  this  great  body  of 
English  Protestants.  But  their  theology  was 
not  original  with  them.  It  was  borrowed  from 
Geneva  and  from  Scotland.  The  Puritan  was  a 
statesman  as  well  as  a  -preacher,  and  English  and 
American  liberty  owes  a  great  debt  to  the  Puri- 
tan fathers.  He  was  a  soldier,  as  well  as  a 
preacher  and  a  statesman.  The  Puritan  was  a 
poet  also,  and  a  philosopher,  —  a  discoverer  and 
an  inventor. 

The  Puritan  was  a  missionary.  The  same 
religious  spirit  which  inspired  the  author  of 
Paradise  Lost,  and  gave  invincible  force  to 
Cromwell's  Ironsides,  —  which  led  the  Pilgrims 
and  the  Puritans  to  seek  a  home  in  the  wilder- 
ness where  they  should  be  free  to  worship  God,  — 
this  spirit  led  them  to  plan  not  only  for  them- 
selves, but  for  the  pagan  aborigines.  Governor 
Bradford  in  his  History  of  Plymouth,  speaking 
of  the  Pilgrims  while  yet  in  Holland,  says  that 


2O6 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 


they  began  as  early  as  1617  to  think  of  a  re- 
moval to  America  for  several  weighty  reasons, 
among  which  he  mentions  "an  inward  zeall,  and 
great  hope  of  laying  some  foundation,  or  making 
way  for  ye  propagating  and  advancing  ye  Gospel 
of  ye  kingdom  of  Christ  to  the  remote  ends  of 
the  earth,  though  they  should  be  but  stepping- 
stones  to  others."  1 

The  Pilgrim  fathers  certainly  cherished  this 
"  inward  zeall  and  great  hope,"  and  they  did  what 
they  could  to  lead  the  Indians  to  the  Christian 
faith.  During  the  early  years  of  Plymouth 
Colony  a  number  of  the  Indians  became  Chris- 
tians. Amid  the  labors  and  privations  of  their 
pioneer  life  the  Pilgrims  found  time  to  teach 
the  natives,  and  to  recommend  to  them  the 
religion  of  Christ. 

The  same  was  true  of  the  Puritans.  The 
charter  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
states  that  it  is  the  principal  end  of  the  planta- 
tion to  "  Winn  and  incite  the  natives  of  the 
country  to  the  knowledge  and  Obedience  of  the 
onlie  true  God  and  Saviour  of  Mankinde,  and 
the  Christian  Fayth."  The  original  seal  of  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  had  on  it  the  fig- 
ure of  an  Indian,  with  the  words,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us." 

1  Bradford's  History,  24.  Massachusetts  Historical  Society's 
Collections,  4th  series,  vol.  iv. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  MISSIONS. 


IN  the  earlier  years  of  both  Colonies  it  was  not 
practicable  to  establish  missions  among  the  In- 
dians. The  people  Were  tOO  poor,  Early  Missionary 

and  the  struggle  for  existence  was  EffortSt 
too  intense.  But  their  relations  with  the  Indians 
were  generally  friendly.  The  Indians  came 
every  day  into  their  settlements  and  into  their 
cabins.  Sometimes  they  had  articles  to  sell. 
They  were  an  imitative  race.  They  were  dis- 
posed to  do  as  the  English  did.  They  were  not 
slow  to  perceive  some  of  the  advantages  of  civili- 
zation. The  religion  and  the  civilization  of  the 
English  seemed  to  these  children  of  the  forest 
to  be  closely  related  to  each  other.  They  were 
very  susceptible  to  kindness  from  their  white 
neighbors.  The  seeds  of  truth  were  scattered 
among  them,  and  there  was  increasing  encour- 
agement to  engage  in  direct  missionary  work. 
In  1636,  the  Plymouth  Colony  enacted  laws  to 
provide  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  among 
the  Indians.  This  led  to  a  number  of  efforts 
within  the  Plymouth  Colony  to  bring  the  Indians 
under  religious  instruction.  As  early  as  1632, 
Roger  Williams,  while  a  pastor  at  Plymouth, 
began  to  study  the  language  of  the  Indians  of 
that  vicinity.  He  took  pains  to  become  familiar 
with  Indian  life,  so  as  to  be  able  to  influence 


208 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 


them.  He  was  frequently  engaged  in  direct  mis- 
sionary work  among  their  tribes. 

The  most  important  movement  for  the  con- 
version of  the  Indians  was  initiated  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  Massachusetts.  In  November,  1644, 
the  Court  expressed  its  desire  that  some  more 
direct  means  should  be  used  for  the  religious  in- 
struction of  the  Indians.  It  asked  the  ministers 
to  express  their  opinions  as  to  the  best  methods. 
In  1646,  the  same  body  directed  the  ministers 
to  choose  two  of  their  number  at  the  annual 
election  every  year,  to  engage  in  missionary  work 
among  the  Indians.  This  called  general  atten- 
tion to  the  matter.  But  a  great  preparation  had 
already  been  made  for  this  work.  The  Pequot 
War  had  been  so  long  over  that  there  seemed  to 
be  a  reasonable  prospect  of  permanent  peace,  at 
least  with  the  Massachusetts  tribe  of  Indians. 
The  policy  of  the  two  Colonies  had  always  been 
to  cultivate  peaceful  relations  with  the  aborig- 
ines. They  had  never  engaged  in  war  with 
them,  except  in  defence  against  hostile  attacks. 
In  1646,  the  English  and  the  Indians  were 
dwelling  together  as  neighbors  and  trusting 
friends. 

A  number  of  the  ministers  in  the  New  Eng- 
land Colonies  had  been  studying  the  languages 
of  the  natives  and  cultivating  an  acquaintance 
with  them.  In  1643,  Thomas  Mayhew,  a  mer- 


THOMAS  MAYHEW. 


chant,  settled  on  the  Island  of  Martha's  Vine- 
yard. His  son,  of  the  same  name,  an  educated 
minister,  came  to  the  island  a  year  or  two  later. 
These  two  learned  to  speak  the  language  of  the 
natives,  and  they  were  both  very  useful  mission- 
aries among  them.  Others  in  the  Old  Colony 
were  doing  the  same  thing.  The  time  for  a 
great  missionary  work  seemed  to  have  come. 
People  were  talking  about  it,  and  praying  for  the 
success  of  the  enterprise.  The  idea  of  missions 
was  in  the  air.  The  men  to  lead  in  the  work 
were  already  trained,  and  were  finding  their  way 
to  the  people  who  needed  their  help. 

Among  the  most  eminent  of  these  early  mis- 
sionaries was  John  Eliot,  who  is  commonly  spoken 
of  as  the  Apostle  to  the  Indians.  There  was  no 
name  more  honored  among  the  Puritan  churches 
than  his.  In  studying  his  life  and  work  we  shall 
learn  how  to  estimate  The  Puritan  as  a  Missionary. 


II 

JOHN  ELIOT  was  the  son  of  Bennett  Eliot  and 
Lettice  Aggar,  who  were  married  in  Widford, 
Hertfordshire,  England,  October  30,  1598.*  Little 
is  known  of  his  parents.  His  father  belonged  to 
an  old  English  family  that  is  said  to  have  de- 
scended from  Sir  William  De  Aliot,  a  Norman 

1  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Register,  1894,  p.  403. 


2IO        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE   INDIANS. 

knight,  who  came  over  with  William  the  Con- 
queror.1 He  was  probably  a  relative  of  Sir  John 
Eliot,  the  great  English  patriot  and  statesman 
of  the  time  of  Charles  the  First ;  but  there  is  no 
decisive  evidence  of  this.2  Bennett  Eliot  was  a 
man  of  some  importance  as  a  landholder  in  four 
or  five  parishes  in  Hertfordshire.  His  will  shows 
that  he  had  a  large  estate  for  those  times.  By 
that  will  he  provided  generously  for  the  educa- 
tion of  his  son  John,  who  was  a  student  at  the 
University  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  and 
also  for  the  education  of  his  younger  children.3 
His  son  John  was  born  in  Widford,  a  small  par- 
ish of  about  five  hundred  inhabitants,  twenty-five 
miles  north  from  London,  near  the  borders  of 
Birth  of  John  Essex  County,  which  was  the  home 
of  so  many  of  the  early  settlers  of 
New  England.  We  do  not  know  the  exact  date 
of  his  birth,  but  the  old  register  of  the  church 
of  St.  John  Baptist  contains  this  record  of  his 
baptism4:  "John  Eliot,  the  son  of  Bennett  Eliot, 
was  baptized  the  5th  day  of  August,  in  the 

1  Eliot  Genealogy,  New  Haven,  Conn.,  1864,  P-  "• 

2  Eliot  Genealogy,  30-35. 

8  See  the  will  of  Bennett  Eliot,  reprinted  in  the  New  England 
Genealogical  Register,  1894,  pp.  396-398. 

4  It  is  only  recently  that  the  record  of  his  baptism  has  been 
found  by  one  of  his  descendants,  Dr.  Ellsworth  Elliot  of  New 
York  City.  The  earlier  writers  do  not  mention  his  birthplace. 
Most  of  the  later  writers  have  stated  that  he  was  born  in  Nasing, 


THE   CHILDHOOD  OF  JOHN  ELIOT.  211 

year  of  our  Lord  God  1604."  That  church  is  a 
very  ancient  structure.  Parts  of  it  are  probably 
eight  hundred  years  old.  The  tower,  which  is 
five  hundred  years  old,  contains  a  peal  of  bells  of 
exceptional  sweetness  and  purity.  A  memorial 
window  to  commemorate  John  Eliot  has  been 
placed  in  the  chancel  of  the  church,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  descendants  in  this  country,  and 
was  dedicated  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  May 
21,  I894.1 

We  have  very  little  knowledge  of  the  child- 
hood and  youth  of  John  Eliot.  He  was  the 
third  child  in  a  family  of  seven.  "  It  childhood  and 

J  Youth  of  John 

was  a  great  favor  of  God  to  me,  he  Eiiot 
said  at  a  later  time,  "  that  my  first  years  were 
seasoned  with  the  fear  of  God,  the  Word,  and 
prayer."  Before  he  was  six  years  old,  his  father 
removed  to  Nasing,  Essex  County,  a  place  that 
was  distinguished  above  almost  any  other  in 
England  for  the  number  of  Puritan  families  that 

Essex,  because  the  younger  children  of  the  family  were  baptized 
in  the  church  in  that  parish.  For  the  record  see  the  New  England 
Historic  Genealogical  Register,  1894,  p.  402.  Also  the  Boston 
Evening  "Transcript,  October  21,  1893.  The  present  rector  of  the 
church,  Rev.  John  T.  Lockwood,  writes,  "  The  entry  here  copied 
is,  fortunately,  one  of  the  few  in  Widford  Parish  which  remains 
clear  and  distinct  after  the  lapse  of  289  years." 

1  See  the  Boston  Evening  Transcript,  June  16,  1896;  and  the 
N.  E.  H.  Genealogical  Register,  1894,  p.  80.  Dr.  Elliot  secured 
about  $1000,  from  the  Eliots  of  the  United  States  toward  the  ex- 
pense of  this  memorial  window. 


212         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

went  from  it  to  New  England.1  He  grew  up  in 
a  community  in  which  the  Non-Conformists  were 
so  numerous  as  to  exert  a  strong  influence.  He 
was  matriculated  as  a  pensioner  in  Jesus  College, 
Cambridge,  March  20,  1618,  and  received  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  162$?  He  was  dis- 
tinguished at  the  University  for  his  love  of  the 
languages,  Greek  and  Hebrew  especially.  He 
was  also  well  versed  in  the  general  course  of 
liberal  studies  that  were  pursued  at  that  time  in 
the  English  Universities,  and  was  noted  for  his 
discriminating  knowledge  of  theology.  He  was 
fond  of  philological  inquiries,  and  was  an  acute 


grammarian.3 


Ill 


ON  leaving  the  University,  he  was  employed 
as  an  Usher  in  the  Grammar  School  of  Thomas 
Hooker,  at  Little  Baddow,  near  Chelmsford,  in 
Essex  County.  The  influence  of  Thomas  Hooker, 
who  was  eighteen  years  older  than  Eliot,  was  the 
leading  influence  in  forming  his  religious  char- 
acter. He  always  spoke  of  the  time  of  his  resi- 
dence with  this  great  Puritan  divine  as  the  begin- 

1  Memorials  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  by  W.  Winters.     1882. 

2  Original  Record,  Cambridge  University. 

8  Eliot  Genealogy,  34.  Memorials  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  26. 
Life  of  John  Eliot  in  Sparks's  American  Biography,  by  C.  Francis, 
4,  5.  Will  of  Bennett  Elliott,  New  England  Historical  and  Genea- 
logical Register,  1894,  pp.  366,  367. 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 


ning  of  his  religious  life.  "To  this  Beginning  of  MS 
place  was  I  called,"  he  said,  "through  Religious  Llfe- 
the  infinite  riches  of  God's  mercy,  —  for  here  the 
Lord  said  unto  my  dead  soul,  'Live';  and  through 
the  grace  of  Christ  I  do  live,  and  I  shall  live  for- 
ever. When  I  came  to  this  blessed  family,  I 
then  saw,  and  never  before,  the  power  of  godli- 
ness in  its  lively  vigor  and  efficacy."1  Under 
the  influence  of  Mr.  Hooker,  he  was  led  to  de- 
vote himself  to  the  Christian  ministry. 

We  know  comparatively  little  of  his  life  dur- 
ing the  eight  years  that  followed  the  date  of  his 
graduation.  A  part  of  the  time  was  occupied 
by  his  work  of  teaching  at  Little  Baddow.  But 
those  were  years  of  persecution  for  the  Non-Con- 
formists. Neal  tells  us,  in  his  "  History  of  the 
Puritans,"  that  "  Elliot  was  not  allowed  to  teach 
school  in  his  native  country."2  Mr.  Hooker  was 
compelled  to  flee  into  Holland.  Mr.  Eliot  saw 
very  little  opportunity  to  preach  the  truth  as  he 
understood  it  in  England,  and  he  made  prepara- 
tions to  go  to  New  England.  A  number  of  his 
personal  friends,  including  some  of  his  near  rela- 
tives, had  engaged  to  follow  him  as  soon  as  the 
way  should  be  open,  and  he  had  given  a  condi- 
tional promise  to  become  their  minister.  Some  of 
this  company  had  been  his  neighbors  at  Nasing. 

1  The  Life  of  John  Eliot,  by  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams,  1870. 

3  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  i.  305,  Harpers'  edition,  1858. 


214         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE   INDIANS. 

IV 

HE  sailed  for  New  England  in  the  ship  Lyon, 
"in  the  ninth  month,"  we  are  told,  and  "landed 
Removes  to  New  in  Boston,  November  4,  1631."  He 
EngiaM.  fad  as  fellow  passengers  Mrs.  Mar- 

garet Winthrop,  the  wife  of  Governor  Winthrop, 
"  with  his  eldest  son  and  other  of  his  children," 1 
and  more  than  fifty  other  people,  who  went  to  join 
the  Massachusetts  Colony.  Mr.  Eliot  was  now 
twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  he  must  have  been 
already  prepared  for  his  work  as  a  minister,  al- 
though it  is  not  certainly  known  that  he  had  been 
ordained  in  England.  He  immediately  united 
with  the  First  Church  in  Boston,  and  was  at 
once  invited  to  be  their  minister  until  the  return 
of  their  pastor,  Mr.  Wilson,  from  England.  His 
services  were  very  acceptable  to  that  congrega- 
tion, and  they  set  their  hearts  on  securing  him 
as  the  teacher  of  the  church,  in  connection  with 
the  pastor.2 

The  next  year,  however,  his  friends  from  Essex 
County  came  over  and  settled  in  Roxbury.  They 
claimed  the  fulfilment  of  his  promise  to  devote 
himself  to  their  service.  In  accordance  with  this 
understanding  Mr.  Eliot  declined  to  listen  to  the 
proposals  of  the  church  in  Boston,  and  accepted 

1  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  232. 

2  Winthrop's  Journal,  i.   93. 


HIS  SETTLEMENT  IN  ROXBURY.  215 

the  call  to  settle  in  Roxbury.  He  was  ordained 
at  Roxbury,  November  5,  1632,  as  teacher  of 
the  church,  and  continued  in  that  office  until 
his  death.  He  had  been  married  about  a 
month  before  his  ordination  to  Hannah  Mum- 
ford,  or  Mountford,  a  lady  of  about  his  own 
age,  to  whom  he  had  been  betrothed  in  Eng- 
land. She  had  come  to  him  under  the  care  of 
friends  as  soon  as  he  could  promise  her  a  home, 
and  they  labored  together  with  one  heart  and 
mind  until  her  death,  more  than  fifty  years 
afterwards. 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Eliot  in  Roxbury  was  like 
that  of  the  other  Puritan  pastors  of  his  time  in 
New  England.  He  was  a  very  able  ms  Ministry 
and  well  read  man,  — a  student  of  the  ***!»«*• 
principles  of  government,  as  well  as  of  theology. 
He  was  in  sympathy  with  the  advanced  political 
views  of  the  Puritans.  He  believed  in  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government,  while  he  was  willing 
to  submit  to  any  other  form  which  was  estab- 
lished. He  rejoiced  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
Stuarts,  and  in  the  establishment  of  the  Puritan 
Commonwealth.  He  guarded  with  jealous  care 
the  rights  of  the  people  in  the  Colony  to  repre- 
sentation in  the  government.  He  blamed  the 
Governor  and  the  Council  because  they  had  con- 
cluded a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  without  consult- 
ing the  representatives  of  the  people.  He  was 


2l6        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 

the  author  of  a  political  work  called  "  The 
Christian  Commonwealth/'  which  set  forth, 
among  other  things,  the  right  of  the  people  to 
elect  their  own  rulers.  The  leading  principle 
of  the  book  was  accepted,  in  the  time  of  Crom- 
well, by  the  Puritans  in  England  and  America. 
After  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  however, 
such  principles  were  considered  "seditious,  and 
subversive  of  the  government  established  in " 
England.  The  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts took  measures  to  suppress  the  book,  and 
obtained  from  Mr.  Eliot  a  retraction  of  so  much 
of  the  book  as  treated  the  government  of  Eng- 
land by  King,  Lords,  and  Commons  as  anti- 
christian.  He  acknowledged  the  restored  gov- 
ernment of  England  as  "  not  only  a  lawful,  but 
eminent  form  of  government,"  and  declared  his 
readiness  to  subject  himself,  for  conscience'  sake, 
to  any  form  of  civil  polity  which  could  be  de- 
duced from  Scripture  as  being  of  God,  and 
abjured  everything  in  the  book  inconsistent  with 
this  declaration.1 

But  although  Mr.  Eliot  was  interested,  as  all 
the  Puritans  wrere,  to  secure  the  rights  of  the 
people,  he  was,  above  all  other  things,  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel.  He  was,  all  his  life,  a  close 
student  of  the  Bible,  and  an  earnest  and  faith- 

1  Republished  in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  viii.  29.  Francis, 
Life  of  Eliot,  210-212. 


MINISTRY  IN  ROXBUKV.  21  J 

ful  preacher,  as  well  as  an  affectionate  and  de- 
voted pastor.  He  held  the  Puritan  theology,  and 
preached  it,  and  defended  it.  His  church  had 
two  ministers  a  part  of  the  time  of  his  ministry, — 
a  pastor  and  a  teacher,  —  but  there  was  work 
enough  for  both  of  them.  He  was  regarded  as 
a  minister  of  unusual  gifts,  as  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  church  in  Boston  desired  him  to 
take  the  place  that  was  soon  afterwards  filled  by 
that  eminent  man,  John  Cotton. 

He  was  so  fond  of  the  Hebrew  language  that 
he  used  to  say  that  it  was  better  fitted  than  any 
other  language  to  be  the  universal  language. 
He  was  quite  sure  that  Hebrew  would  be  the 
language  of  heaven.1  He  was  interested  espe- 
cially in  the  progress  of  medical  science,  and- he 
believed  that  human  life  would  be  much  longer 
when  the  physicians  should  have  gained  a  knowl- 
edge of  all  the  medicines  that  nature  has  pro- 
vided, and  should  have  skill  to  use  them.  He 
was  sure  that  the  time  was  coming,  according  to 
one  of  the  prophecies,  when  "  the  child  shall  die 
an  hundred  years  old,"2  and  when  those  who  were 
aged  should  count  their  years  like  the  patriarchs. 

"  He  was  distinguished,"  says  one  of  his  biog- 
raphers, "for  facetiousness  and  affability."  His 

i  See  Eliot's  Communion  of  Churches,  chap.  iii.  17.     Francis, 
Life  of  Eliot,  306-308. 
a  Isa.  Ixv.  20. 


2l8         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE   INDIANS. 

conversation  was  sprinkled  with  wit.  He  had  a 
strong  interest  in  young  people.  The  little  chil- 
dren loved  him.  He  was  interested  in  the  public 
schools,  and  was  the  means  of  establishing  a  free 
school  in  Roxbury,  for  the  support  of  which  he 
bequeathed  a  considerable  part  of  his  estate. 
Cotton  Mather  states  that  in  his  day  Roxbury 
furnished  more  scholars  for  the  College  than  any 
other  town  of  its  size  in  New  England.  His 
preaching  was  distinguished  by  great  simplicity 
and  plainness,  so  that,  as  Cotton  Mather  says, 
in  his  quaint  way:  "  The  very  lambs  might  wade 
into  his  discourses,  on  those  texts  and  themes 
wherein  elephants  might  swim.  .  .  .  His  manner 
was  usually  gentle  and  winning,  but  when  sin 
was  to  be  rebuked,  or  corruption  combated,  his 
voice  swelled  into  solemn  and  powerful  energy. 
.  .  .  On  such  occasion  there  were  as  many  thun- 
derbolts as  words."  l 

V 

WHEN  Mr.  Eliot  began  in  earnest  to  learn  the 
Indian  language,  he  found  an  Indian  living  in 
Learning  the  Dorchester  who  was  exactly  fitted  to 
the  Indians.  become  his  teacher.  He  says  :  "  God 
first  put  into  my  heart  a  compassion  over  their 
poor  souls,  and  a  desire  to  teach  them  to 

1  Francis,  Life  of  Eliot,  309-315. 


LEARNING   THE  INDIAN  LANGUAGE. 


know  Christ,  and  to  bring  them  into  His  king- 
dome.  Then  presently  I  found  out  a  pregnant 
witted  young  man,  who  had  been  a  servant  in  an 
English  house,  who  pretty  well  understood  our 
language,  and  well  understood  his  own  language, 
and  hath  a  clear  pronunciation  :  Him  I  made  my 
interpreter."  In  another  place  he  tells  us  that 
this  Indian  belonged  to  Long  Island,  and  that  he 
had  been  taken  prisoner,  and  had  lived  with  Mr. 
Colicott  of  Dorchester.  "  This  Indian,"  he  says, 
"can  read,  and  I  taught  him  to  write,  which  he 
quickly  learnt.  He  was  the  first  one  I  made  use 
of  to  teach  me  words,  and  to  be  my  interpreter. 
...  By  his  help,  I  translated  the  Commandments, 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  many  texts  of  Scripture  : 
also  I  compiled  both  exhortations  and  prayers  by 
his  help.  I  diligently  marked  the  difference  of 
their  grammar  from  ours.  When  I  found  the  way 
of  them,  I  would,  pursue  a  Word,  a  Noun,  a  Verb, 
through  all  the  variations  I  could  think  of.  We 
must  not  sit  still  and  look  for  miracles.  Up,  and 
be  doing,  and  the  Lord  will  be  with  thee.  Prayer 
and  pains,  through  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  will  do 
anything."  l 

If  we  follow  the  latest  authority,  this  interpreter 
was  an  Indian  from  Long  Island,  who  was  well 
known  there,  in  subsequent  years,  as  a  very  intel- 

1  See  a  note  at  the  end  of  his  Indian  Grammar,  printed  in  Cam- 
bridge in  1664.  See  also  a  letter  of  John  Eliot,  dated  February  12, 
1649,  quoted  in  Cockanoe,  1896. 


22O        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

ligent  interpreter.  His  name  is  variously  written, 
as  Cockoo,  Cockoe,  or  Cockenoe.1  We  can  ima- 
gine the  enthusiastic  student  of  the  Indian  lan- 
guage, calling  in  this  "  pregnant  witted  "  young 
Indian  to  help  him  in  the  long  evenings.  The 
minister  was  now  forty  years  of  age,  and  it  was 
not  so  easy  for  him  to  learn  a  new  language  as  it 
would  have  been  twenty  years  earlier.  The  lan- 
guage was  unlike  any  other  with  which  he  was 
acquainted.  Some  of  the  words  were  of  enor- 
mous length.  Four  or  five  syllables  make  a  long 
word  with  us,  but  on  the  title  page  of  Eliot's 
Indian  Bible  there  is  a  word  of  eight  syllables. 
In  the  second  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis 
there  is  one  of  nine  syllables,  with  twenty-four 
letters.  I  have  counted  sixteen  syllables,  with 
forty-two  letters,  in  an  Indian  word.  The  reason 
of  this  long  drawing  out  of  words  is  that  they  ex- 
press by  one  word  what  we  express  by  several 
words.  The  pronoun,  and  the  adjective,  and 
the  verb,  and  sometimes  the  noun,  are  all  in 
one  word. 

Mr.  Eliot  had  another  interpreter,  an  older 
man,  Job  Nesutan.  Both  of  these  Indians  became 
Christians.2  It  is  probable  that  he  had  the  help 
of  several  other  Indians  in  his  study  of  their  lan- 

1  John  Eliot's  first  Indian  teacher,  Cockenoe,  1896,  Harpers. 

2  Francis,  Life  of  John  Eliot,  40,  note.     "  This  young  man  was 
then  about  to  join  the  church  in  Dorchester."    Cockenoe,  16,  note. 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS.  221 

guage.  He  would  get  a  word  here,  and  another 
there,  and  would  learn  how  to  use  them.  His 
method  seems  to  have  been  this :  Having  an  Eng- 
lish sentence,  he  would  find  out  the  Indian  words 
that  make  up  that  sentence.  In  that  way  he 
would  learn  the  order  of  the  words,  and  the  in- 
flections, as  well  as  the  words  themselves.  It  is 
plain  that  he  could  not  have  learned  the  language 
so  well,  if  he  had  not  been  a  well  trained  gram- 
marian. He  had  a  genius  for  acquiring  languages, 
and  a  love  for  the  study  of  new  languages.  He 
gradually  gained  the  power,  not  only  to  write  the 
Indian  language  but  to  speak  it.  The  other 
pastors  of  the  vicinity  were  perhaps  as  much  in- 
terested as  he  in  the  work  among  the  Indians. 
Several  of  them  had  some  knowledge  of  the  lan- 
guage. But  they  all  looked  to  Mr.  Eliot  as  their 
leader,  because  he  could  use  the  language  so 
much  better  than  they.  At  that  time  Protestant 
missions  were  in  their  infancy.  For  a  hundred 
years  after  the  death  of  Luther,  the  Protestant 
churches  were  not  prepared  to  establish  missions 
among  the  heathen.  The  Dutch  Protestants 
sent  a  few  missionaries  to  the  East  Indies,  and 
established  a  missionary  college.  But  when  the 
Pilgrims  came  to  America  there  was  not  a  Prot- 
estant missionary  society  in  the  world. 


222         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

VI. 

THE  first  effort  was  made  about  the  middle  of 
September,  1646,  not  at  Nonantum,  but  at  Dor- 
preacMngto  Chester  Mill.  Mr.  Eliot  says  himself, 
the  Indians.  «  When  I  first  attempted  it,  they  gave 
no  heed  unto  it,  but  were  weary,  and  rather  de- 
spised what  I  said."  He  writes  in  another  place 
that  the  Indians  of  Dorchester  Mill  did  not  re- 
gard any  such  thing,  at  first,  though  they  after- 
wards desired  to  be  taught  to  know  God.1 

1  Letter  of  John  Eliot  to  T.  S.,  September  24,  1647,  in  the  Mass. 
Hist.  Soc.  Collections,  3d  series,  iv.  50.  It  was  in  the  wigwam 
of  Cutshamakim,  the  sachem  of  Neponset,  within  the  limits  of 
Dorchester  :  — 

"  When  I  first  attempted  it,  they  gave  no  heed  unto  it,  but  were 
weary,  and  rather  despised  what  I  said.  A  while  after  God  stirred 
vp  in  some  of  them  a  desire  to  come  into  English  fashions,  and  live 
after  their  manner  .  .  .  which  when  I  heard,  my  heart  moved  with- 
in mee,  abhorring  that  wee  should  sit  still  and  let  that  work  alone, 
and  hoping  that  this  motion  of  them  was  of  the  Lord,  and  that  this 
mind  in  them  was  a  preparative  to  imbrace  the  Law  and  Word  of 
God ;  and  therefore  I  told  them  that  they  and  wee  were  already 
one,"  etc.  "  I  told  them  that  if  they  would  learn  to  know  God,  I 
would  teach  them :  unto  which  they  being  very  willing,  I  then 
taught  them,  (as  I  at  sundry  times  had  indeavored  afore,)  but 
never  found  them  so  forward,  attentive,  and  desirous  to  learn,  and 
then  I  told  them  I  would  come  to  their  Wigwams,  and  teach  them, 
their  wives  and  children,  which  they  seemed  very  glad  of  :  and  from 
that  day  forward  I  have  not  failed  to  doe  that  poore  little  which 
you  know  I  doe.  I  first  began  with  the  Indians  at  Noonantum, 
as  you  know ;  those  of  Dorchester  Mill  not  regarding  any  such 
thing."  The  Cleere  Sun-Shine  of  the  Gospel,  Eliot's  Letter  to  T. 
S.,  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  50. 


PREACHING   TO   THE  INDIANS.  223 

His  next  effort  was  at  Nonantum.1  There 
had  been  great  solicitude  about  the  result  of 
this  second  attempt,  and  much  prayer  had  been 
offered.  He  did  not  go  alone,  nor  without  an 
appointment  There  were  four  in  the  mission- 
ary party.  Eliot  of  course  was  one;  Thomas 
Shepard,  minister  in  Cambridge,  was  another ; 
John  Wilson,  minister  in  Boston,  was  probably 
the  third ;  and  Major  Daniel  Gookin  was  prob- 
ably the  fourth.  We  have  an  account  of  this 
meeting,  written  by  one  who  was  present.  It  is 
plain  from  the  narrative  itself  that  it  was  not  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Eliot.  Perhaps  it  was  by  Mr.  Wilson. 

"  Upon  October  28,  1646,"  so  the  record  runs, 
"  four  of  us,  having  sought  God,  went  unto  the 
Indians  inhabiting  within  our  bounds,  with  de- 
sire to  make  known  the  things  of  their  peace 
to  them.  A  little  before  we  came  to  their  Wig- 
wams, five  or  six  of  the  chief  of  them  met  us 
with  English  salutations,  bidding  us  much  wel- 

1  It  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  exact  location  of  Waban's  tent. 
Gookin  says  (Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  168)  :  "  The  first 
place  he  began  to  preach  at  was  Nonantum,  near  Watertowne 
Mill,  upon  the  south  side  of  Charles  River,  about  four  or  five  miles 
from  his  own  house,  where  lived  at  that  time  Waban,  one  of  their 
principal  men,  and  some  Indians  with  him."  This,  so  far  as  we 
know,  is  the  only  contemporary  authority.  Tradition,  which  runs 
back  a  number  of  generations,  has  fixed  upon  a  spot  on  the  south- 
eastern slope  of  Nonantum  Hill.  Here  a  terrace  has  been  con- 
structed, bearing  an  inscription  which  states  that  near  this  spot 
Eliot  first  preached  to  the  Indians.  See  also  Drake's  History  of 
Middlesex  County,  ii.  443. 


224         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

come:  who,  leading  us  into  the  principall  Wig- 
wam of  Waauban,  we  found  many  more  Indians, 
men,  women,  children,  gathered  together  from  all 
quarters  round  about,  according  to  appointment, 
to  meet  with  us  and  learn  of  us." l 

It  was  a  great  historic  occasion.  It  was  in 
obedience  to  the  requirement  of  the  General 
Court  of  the  Colony  for  one  thing.  Four  repre- 
sentative Puritans  were  there  to  express  the  "  in- 
ward zeall  and  great  hope  "  they  had  of  winning 
"  the  natives  of  the  country  "  to  the  "  Saviour  of 
Mankind."  It  was  almost  the  earliest  of  Protes- 
tant missions,  and  so  it  was  very  nearly  the  begin- 
ning of  that  great  missionary  movement  which 
has  since  extended  over  the  world.2  Eliot  and 
Mayhew,  and  a  very  few  more,  stand  almost  at  the 
head  of  that  great  multitude  of  missionaries  who 
have  been  going  out  from  Christian  lands  these 
last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

VII. 

WHEN  all  were  assembled,  in  that  "  principall 
Wigwam  of  Waauban,"  Mr.  Eliot  began  the  ser- 
vice with  prayer.  He  prayed  in  English,  because 
his  command  of  the  language  of  the  Indians  was 

1  The  Day-Breaking  of  the  Gospell  with  the  Indians  in  New 
England,  in  Massachusetts  Historical  Society's  Collections,  3d 
series,  iv.  3. 

8  Protestant  Missions,  Dr.  A.  C.  Thompson,  22-81. 


PREACHING   TO   THE  INDIANS.  22$ 

so  imperfect  that  it  seemed  hardly  The  First  Meet- 
reverent  to  address  the  Lord  with  *»« « am^tum. 
such  broken  words.1  Then  Mr.  Eliot  preached 
to  that  attentive  company,  as  the  old  chronicler 
tells  us,  "  the  blessed  word  of  Salvation,  for 
an  hour  and  a  quarter."  He  began,  in  the 
only  way  in  which  it  was  possible  for  him  to 
begin  with  any  prospect  of  success,  by  telling 
the  Indians  of  the  law  of  God.  He  repeated  the 
ten  Commandments,  and  explained  the  mean- 
ing of  each  one  of  them.  He  showed  them  in 
what  ways  they  were  breaking  these  command- 
ments of  God  every  day  of  their  lives.  He  made 
his  address  very  plain  and  practical,  for  he  knew 
very  well  what  the  sins  of  the  Indians  were.  He 
told  them  that  the  great  God  was  angry  with 
them  every  day  because  they  were  every  day 
breaking  His  commandments.  He  told  them 
further,  that  he  had  come,  with  their  English 
friends,  to  make  known  to  them  a  Saviour  who 
had  come  into  the  world  to  seek  and  to  save  lost 
men.  He  made  it  plain  to  them  that,  if  they 
would  repent  of  their  sins,  and  pray  to  God  for 
forgiveness,  if  they  would  worship  God,  and  obey 
His  commandments, —  His  anger  would  turn  away 
from  them,  and  He  would  make  them  His  dear 
children.2  ' 

1  Francis,  Life  of  Eliot,  49. 

2  The  Day-Breaking  of  the  Gospell  with  the  Indians,  4 


226         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

The  effect  of  his  address  upon  the  Indians 
was  very  great,  just  as  the  effect  of  these  truths 
has  always  been  very  great  wherever  they  have 
been  preached.  Mr.  Eliot  then  inquired  whether 
they  had  understood  what  he  had  said.  They 
answered  that  they  had.  He  then  said,  "  Have 
all  of  you  in  this  Wigwam  understood,  or  only 
some  few?"  and  they  answered,  "with  multitude 
of  voyces,  that  they  all  of  them  did  understand 
all  that  which  was  then  spoken  to  them."  After 
this,  the  old  record  tells  us,  we  invited  them  to 
ask  questions  "for  the  more  clear  understanding 
of  what  had  been  delivered."  Whereupon  one 
inquired,  u  How  may  we  come  to  know  Jesus 
Christ?"  After  this  had  been  answered,  another 
inquired,  "Whether  Jesus  Christ  did  understand, 
or  God  did  understand  Indian  prayers,  when  they 
spoke  in  their  own  language."  They  were  told 
that  "  God  made  Indian  men,  just  as  He  made 
Englishmen,  and  He  knew  the  words  and  even 
the  thoughts  of  Indians  because  He  had  made 
them.  After  a  number  of  other  inquiries  had 
been  answered  by  us,  we  also  asked  a  number  of 
questions  of  them,  which  they  answered  as  well 
as  they  could.  .  .  .  After  three  hours'  time  thus 
spent  with  them,  we  asked  them  if  they  were  not 
weary,  and  they  answered,  No.  But  wee  re- 
solved to  leave  them  with  an  appetite.  The 
chiefe  of  them,  seeing  us  conclude  with  prayer, 


THE  SHORT  CATECHISM.  22*J 

desired  to  know  when  we  would  come  againe ; 
so  wee  appointed  the  time,  and  having  given 
the  children  some  apples,  and  the  men  some 
tobacco,  and  what  else  we  then  had  at  hand, 
.  .  .  wee  departed  with  many  welcomes  from 
them."1 

Two  weeks  later  Mr.  Eliot  and  his  three  friends 
came  to  Nonantum  again,  and  found  a  larger 
number  of  Indians,  and,  what  was  very  signifi- 
cant, that  the  Indians  had  provided  seats  for  the 
English  visitors.  He  began  this  time  with  the 
children.  He  taught  them  a  short  catechism 
with  three  questions :  — 

"  Who  made  you  and  all  the  world  ? 
"  Who  shall  redeem  you  from  sin  and  Hell  ? 
"  How  many  Commandments  hath  God  given  you 
to  Keep?" 

After  the  children  had  learned  this  catechism, 
Mr.  Eliot  preached  to  the  Indians  "  by  the  space 
of  an  hour,"  going  over  once  more  with  the  prin- 
cipal facts  and  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion. 
A  number  of  Indians  were  melted  to  tears  by 
what  they  were  told  of  the  love  and  grace  of  God, 
and  of  their  sin  against  Him.  An  old  Indian  in- 
quired whether  it  "  was  too  late  for  such  an  old 
man  as  hee,  who  was  neare  death,  to  repent,  or 
seeke  after  God?"  Another  asked  how  the 

1  Day-Breaking  of  the  Gospell,  5-8.     Winthrop,  ii.  304. 


228        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO    THE  INDIANS. 

English  came  to  differ  so  much  from  the  Indians 
in  the  knowledge  of  God,  seeing  we  all  have  one 
Father.  Another  wished  to  know  how  we  may 
come  to  serve  God.  They  spent  the  whole  after- 
noon in  this  way.  Mr.  Eliot  prayed  this  time  in 
the  Indian  language,  to  the  great  joy  and  wonder 
of  his  dusky  congregation.1  They  were  now  cer- 
tain that  the  God  whom  Mr.  Eliot  worshipped 
could  understand  Indian  prayers. 

VIII 

MR.  ELIOT  continued  to  go  to  Nonantum  once 
a  fortnight,  to  catechise  the  children,2  and  to 
preach  to  the  people.  He  had  the  co-operation 
of  the  men  of  greatest  influence  in  the  Colony. 
Governor  Winthrop  was  sometimes  there,  and 
President  Dunster  of  Harvard  College,  and  Major 
Gookin,  and  Mr.  Heath,  and  Mr.  Edward  Jackson. 
Of  the  ministers,  we  find  the  names  of  Shepard, 
and  Wilson,  and  Richard  Mather,  and  Allen 
of  Dedham,  and  others.3  The  work  spread  rap- 

1  Day-Breaking  of  the  Gospell,  8-17. 

2  He  extended  his  catechism  for  the  children  so  as  to  include 
the  most  important  points  of  the  Christian  faith.     This  was  after- 
wards  printed,  and  was  an  important  part  of  the  means  used  by  Mr. 
Eliot  in  teaching  the  Indian   children.     He  also  prepared,  and 
printed  in  the  language  of  the  Indians,  a  larger  catechism  which  he 
used  for  the  older  members  of  the  Indian  communities.  See  Mass. 
Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  i.  169,  Gookin. 

8  Day-Breaking  of  the  Gospell,  41. 


REGULAR  PREACHING  PLACES. 


idly.  An  Indian  sachem  who  lived  near  Concord 
came  to  Nonantum  to  hear  the  missionary,  and 
he  desired  Mr.  Eliot  to  go  and  preach  to  his 
people.  Another  sachem  at  Neponset,  Cuts-ha- 
ma-kim,  who  had  formerly  opposed  the  work, 
desired  to  have  a  meeting  in  his  cabin.  For  a 
long  time  Mr.  Eliot  went  regularly  one  week 
to  Neponset,  and  the  next  week  to  Nonantum. 
He  had  a  number  of  other  preaching  places 
in  this  vicinity,  such  as  Pawtucket,  "  where  is 
a  great  confluence  of  Indians  every  spring"; 
Wamesit  near  Tewksbury,  Concord,  Nasha- 
way  (now  Lancaster),  and  Punkapaog  (now 
Stoughton). 

He  went  sometimes  as  far  as  Yarmouth  to- 
ward the  east,  and  nearly  as  far  toward  the  west. 
There  was  some  difference  in  the  dialects,  yet  the 
Indians  were  almost  always  able  to  understand 
Mr.  Eliot,  and  many  received  his  message  with 
great  joy.  He  wrote  the  following  sentence  in 
the  record  book  of  his  church,  at  the  close  of  the 
first  winter  :  "  This  winter  was  one  of  the  mild- 
est that  ever  we  had  :  no  snow  all  winter  long, 
nor  sharp  weather.  We  never  had  a  bad  day  to 
go  and  preach  to  the  Indians  all  this  winter: 
praised  be  the  Lord." 

All  the  accounts  that  have  come  down  to 
us  indicate  that  there  was  a  genuine  religious 
work  at  that  time  among  the  Indians.  Among 


2  3°        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

the     results    were    such    as     these : 

Permanent 

Effects  of  The  Indians  forsook  their  former  re- 

thisWork.  ..    .  ,  .  .  .  . 

ligion  and  worship,  —  they  began  to 
pray  not  only  by  themselves,  but  in  their 
families,  morning  and  evening,  and  to  return 
thanks  at  their  meals.  They  taught  their  chil- 
dren as  far  as  they  were  able,  and  they  asked 
earnestly  for  teachers  and  schools.  They  began 
to  keep  the  Lord's  day  as  a  day  of  rest  and  of 
worship.  They  met  by  themselves,  when  the  mis- 
sionary could  not  be  present,  to  pray,  and  to  speak 
of  the  things  they  had  learned  from  God's  word.1 
Waban,  the  leading  man  at  Nonantum,  soon 
began  to  pray,  and  to  teach  his  company  the 
things  he  had  so  recently  learned.  After  the 
third  meeting  at  Nonantum,  there  came  to  Mr. 
Eliot's  house  in  Roxbury  one  Wampas,  "  a  wise 
and  sage  Indian."  He  took  with  him  his  own 
son,  and  three  other  children,  and  asked  permis- 
sion to  leave  them  with  the  English,  that  they 
might  be  educated  to  know  God,  for,  he  said,  if 
they  remain  at  home  they  will  grow  up  in  rude- 
ness and  wickedness.  Wampas  also  brought  two 
young  Indians,  who  wished  to  find  employment 
in  English  families,  that  they  might  be  in  the 
way  of  knowing  the  true  religion,  in  which  they 
already  felt  a  deep  interest. 

1  Eliot's  Letter  to  T.  S.,   Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,   3d   series, 
iv.  51. 


SE TTLEMENT  A  T  NONA NTUM.  2  3  I 

Mr.  Eliot  believed  that  civilization  must  go 
with  Christianity.  "  I  find  it  absolutely  neces- 
sary," he  says,  "  to  carry  on  civility  with  religion."  l 
The  savage  must  form  habits  of  regular  industry 
before  he  can  have  strength  of  character  to  live 
an  honest  and  virtuous  life.  He  believed  that 
"  cleanliness  is  next  to  Godliness."  He  pointed 
out  that  there  could  be  no  delicacy  in  the  family 
life  so  long  as  all  lived  by  day  and  by  night  in 
one  apartment.  So  he  sought  to  gather  the 
families  of  praying  Indians  into  a  community, 
where  they  could  build  better  houses,  and  could 
labor  in  the  fields  as  the  English  did.  The  Gen- 
eral Court  "  purchased  land  for  them  to  make 
their  towne,"2  at  the  same  time  that  the  Indians 
were  consulting  about  laws  to  govern  themselves. 
Under  the  lead  of  Waban  they  adopted  ten  laws, 
as  many  as  there  were  Commandments.  These 
laws  were  intended  to  secure  habits  of  industry 
and  of  virtue,  and  to  lead  to  a  cleanly  and  decent 
way  of  living.  The  Indians  set  about  enclosing 
the  ground  that  had  been  given  them,  —  some 
hundreds  of  acres,  —  with  ditches  and  a  stone 
wall.  Mr.  Eliot  had  provided  for  them  "mattocks, 
shovels,  and  crowes  of  iron,"  and  he  promised  to 
give  them  sixpence  a  rod  for  all  the  wall  they 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  $d  series,  iv.  88. 

2  Day-Breaking  of  the   Gospell,  Mass.    Hist.  Soc.    Coll.,   3d 
series,  iv.  20,  also  31,  also  88. 


2J2         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

would  build.1  The  Indians  desired  to  know 
what  name  their  town  should  have,  and  they 
were  told  it  should  be  called  Noonatomen,  or 
Nonantum,  which  signifies  rejoicing.  These 
people  built  their  houses  with  partitions  for  sepa- 
rate rooms,  so  that,  we  are  told,  "  the  meanest  of 
them  were  equal  to  those  of  any  sachem."  They 
were  provided  with  cloth  by  their  English  friends, 
and  in  a  little  time  they  were  able  to  go  to  the 
religious  services  decently  clothed.  Some  re- 
mains of  their  walls  were  to  be  seen  a  century 
ago.  It  was  a  great  uplift  for  those  poor  people. 
Mr.  Eliot  promised  to  give  them  many  hundred 
trees,  for  orchards.  The  women  desired  to  learn 
to  spin,  and  he  procured  wheels  for  them.  They 
began  to  form  habits  of  industry,  and  to  find 
something  to  sell  at  market,  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.2  Mr.  Shepard  states  that  when  he  came 
to  Nonantum,  late  in  the  summer  of  the  next 
year,  he  "  marvailed  to  see  so  many  Indian  men, 
women,  and  children  in  English  apparell,  they 
being  generally  clad,  especially  upon  Lecture 
dayes,  which  they  have  got  partly  by  gift  from 
the  English,  and  partly  by  their  own  labours,  by 
which  some  of  them  have  very  handsomely  ap- 
parelled themselves,  and  you  would  scarce  know 
them  from  English  people."  3 

1  Clear  Sun-Shine,  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  61. 

2  Ibid.,  Eliot's  Letter,  59.  «  Ibid.,  45. 


THE  INDIANS  BEFORE    THE  SYNOD.  233 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1647,  the  Cambridge  Synod 
met  for  its  second  session  at  Cambridge.  It  was 
thought  best  that  the  missionary  work 

J  Eliot's  Sermon 

among  the  Indians  should  be  brought  to  the  Indians  at 
before  the  representatives  of  all  the 
churches  of  New  England.  Accordingly,  Mr. 
Eliot  called  together  a  great  number  of  the 
Indians,  and  preached  to  them  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, in  the  presence  of  the  Synod.  He  set 
before  them  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  in  regard 
to  sin,  and  to  the  need  of  a  Saviour.  He  cate- 
chised the  children  also,  and  the  ministers  were 
delighted,  not  only  by  the  careful  attention  of 
the  people  to  the  word,  but  especially  by  the 
"  readiness  of  divers  poor  naked  children  to  an- 
swer openly  the  chief  questions  which  had  been 
taught  them." l  From  that  time  the  work  among 
the  Indians  had  a  large  place  in  the  sympathies 
and  the  prayers  of  good  people  not  only  here 
but  in  England. 

IX 

THUS,  in  less  than  a  year,  the  work  of  this 
Apostle  among  the  Indians  had  reached  a  point 
where  it  was  necessary  to  ask  for  regular  and 
generous  contributions  for  carrying 

..       *       &    Need  of  large 

it   forward,   and    those   contributions  Missionary 

t  T-       i         i         i\  T       T-T    ,    Contributions. 

must  come  from  England.     Mr.  Eliot 

1  Ibid.,  45.     Winthrop,  ii.  376. 


2  34        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

himself  was  a  man  of  slender  resources.  His 
salary  at  Roxbury  was  only  ^60  a  year,  which 
was  smaller  than  that  of  some  other  minis- 
ters in  the  vicinity,  and  with  that  he  was  to 
support  and  educate  a  family  of  six  children. 
The  General  Court  voted  him  the  first  year  a 
gratuity  of  ^10,  but  this  would  not  have  paid  for 
the  articles  which  he  procured  for  the  Indians 
during  that  year. 

The  settlements  about  him  were  very  new,  and 
the  people  were  poor.  Boston  was  only  sixteen 
years  old,  and  the  time  of  log  houses  with  thatched 
roofs  had  not  gone  by.  Dorchester,  with  the  other 
towns  south  of  Boston,  was  infested  by  wolves, 
and  it  was  paying  a  bounty  of  thirty  shil- 
lings for  every  wolf's  head.  "  The  place  that  is 
now  Walnut  Avenue  was  then  called  The  Fox 
Holes,  and  a  little  further  on  toward  Grove 
Hall  was  The  Bear  Marsh,  and  The  Wolf 
Traps."1 

There  was  not  a  Protestant  Missionary  Society 
in  the  world  at  that  time.  Mr.  Eliot  and  his 
co-laborers  set  themselves  to  create  such  an 
organization  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea.  Very 
careful  and  particular  accounts  of  the  work  among 
the  Indians  were  written  by  those  who  had  a  part 
in  it,  such  as  "  The  Day- Breaking,"  "  The  Cleare 
Sun-Shine,"  "  The  Glorious  Progress  by  the  Gos- 

1  Dr.  A.  C.  Thompson's  Protestant  Missions,  56-58. 


NEED   OF  CONTRIBUTIONS.  235 

pell,"  and  others.      Governor  Edward  Winslow, 
the  agent  of  the  Colonies  in  England,  published 
in  London  a  number  of  the  letters  of  Mr.  Eliot, 
in   which,  in  the  most  simple  and   modest  way, 
he  told  of  what  God  was  doing  for  the  Indians. 
This  was  dedicated  by  Governor  Winslow  to  the 
Parliament  of  England.     The  statements  which 
the  praying  Indians   made   before  the   elders  in 
regard  to  their  religious  exercises  were  all  taken 
down  in  writing  by   Mr.   Eliot,  and  these,  with 
the   names  of  the    Indians,  were  published  and 
read  in  England.     Mr.  Eliot  wrote  to  England, 
"  We   need    some   annual    revenue    to   purchase 
tools  for  the   Indians,  to  pay  teachers  for  their 
schools,  to  pay  for  printing  in  their  language  a 
primer  in  which  they  may  learn  to  read,  and  to 
pay  for  such  help  as   I  need  in  translating  the 
Scriptures,  which   I  look  upon  as  a  sacred  and 
holy   work.      We    shall    also    need    to    pay   for 
printing  such   a  translation  when   it  shall   have 
been  made."     His  plans  were  even  larger  than 
that.     He     said,     "There    be    sundry    pregnant 
witted   youths,  which    I    desire   may  be  wholly 
sequestered    to    learning    and    put    to    school." 
These     youths     he    desired     to     train     up    as 
preachers.1 

These  appeals  to  English  Christians  were  not 
in  vain.     Oliver  Cromwell,  who  was   then  Lord 

1  Eliot's  Letter,  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  123. 


236        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 

Protector,  is  said  to  have  had  a  plan  for  the  uni- 
versal diffusion  of  the  Gospel,  and  his  influence 
was  in  favor  of  every  missionary  enterprise.  By 
his  aid  a  corporation  was  established  by  act  of 
Parliament,  entitled  "  The  President  and  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  New  Eng- 
land." It  was  ordered  that  a  general  contribution 
for  the  object  should  be  made  in  all  the  churches 
through  England  and  Wales.  The  results,  at 
first  small,  became  in  a  few  years  very  generous. 
The  whole  amount  that  was  sent  to  New  Eng- 
land from  this  Society  cannot  be  stated  in 
definite  terms,  but  it  is  known  that  it  amounted" 
to  several  thousand  pounds  sterling.1  The  char- 
ter was  renewed  in  1660,  after  the  restoration  of 
Charles  the  Second,  and  Sir  Robert  Boyle,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Royal  Society,  was  its 
President. 

It  appears  from  notices  in  various  letters  of 
Mr.  Eliot,  and  of  Major  Gookin  and  others,  that 
the  funds  received  from  this  society  were  used  in 
paying  the  expenses  of  the  education  of  a  num- 
ber of  young  Indians,  who  became  preachers  to 
their  people  ;  in  building  the  Indian  College  at 
Cambridge;  in  printing  Eliot's  Indian  Bible, 
and  other  books  in  the  language  of  the  Indians ; 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  218  ;  iii.  180,  Letter  iii., 
also  Letter  vii.,  to  Sir  Thomas  Boyle.  See  Francis,  Life  of  Eliot, 
228-230. 


THE  INDIAN  NA  TICK. 


in  providing  tools  and  instruments  of  various 
kinds  for  their  use  ;  and  in  the  payment  of 
salaries  to  missionaries,  and  native  preachers 
and  teachers.1  Thus  the  way  was  prepared  for 
securing  the  pecuniary  support  of  this  work 
among  the  Indians,  not  only  in  Massachusetts, 
but  in  the  other  New  England  Colonies,  and 
this  Society  was  the  pioneer  of  the  great  number 
of  Foreign  Missionary  Societies,  which  have 
been  formed  and  supported  by  English  and 
American  Christians. 


X 

THE  time  had  now  come  to  carry  out  Mr. 
Eliot's  plans  for  a  larger  and  more  permanent 
settlement  for  the  Christian  Indians,  settlement  of 
Nonantum  was  found  to  be  too  small,  Watick< 
and  too  near  the  English  towns.  The  mission- 
ary work  was  making  rapid  progress  among  the 
Massachusetts  tribe  of  Indians,  and  it  was  ex- 
pected that  it  would  extend  to  the  more  numer- 
ous and  powerful  tribes,  —  to  the  Narragansetts 
and  the  Mohegans,  and  to  other  branches  of  the 
great  Algonquin  family  in  New  England.  The 
missionaries  in  the  Colony  of  Plymouth  were 
also  encouraged  by  their  success  among  the 
Pokanokets,  or  Wampanoags,  to  expect  the  con- 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  212. 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

version  of  the  Narragansetts.  The  plans  of  Mr. 
Eliot  were  made  in  the  expectation  of  bringing 
the  entire  Indian  race  under  the  influence  of  the 
Gospel.  In  November,  1648,  he  wrote  to  Gov- 
ernor Winslow  in  London :  "  The  Indians  are 
not  willing  to  come  to  live  near  the  English, 
because  they  have  neither  tools,  nor  skill,  nor 
heart  to  fence  their  grounds,  and  if  it  be  not  well 
fenced  their  Corne  is  spoyled  by  the  English 
cattell,  which  is  a  great  discouragement  to  them 
and  to  me.  A  place  must  be  found  somewhat 
remote  from  the  English,  where  they  must  have 
the  word  constantly  taught,  and  government  con- 
stantly exercised."  There  should  be  "  incour- 
agements  for  the  industrious,  and  means  of  in- 
structing them  in  Letters,  Trades,  and  Labours, 
as  building,  fishing,  Flax  and  Hemp  dressing, 
planting  orchards,"  etc.  "  Such  a  place  will  draw 
many  from  divers  places  who  desire  to  be  taught 
the  knowledge  of  God."1 

These  were  the  plans  of  Mr.  Eliot  for  an  In- 
dian town.  The  matter  was  under  consideration 
two  or  three  years.  He  made  a  number  of  excur- 
sions into  the  wilderness  in  the  hope  of  finding 
the  right  place.  This  matter  was  made  the  sub- 
ject of  prayer  by  the  friends  of  the  work  among 
the  English,  as  well  as  among  the  Indians.  At 
length  a  place  was  selected,  on  the  banks  of 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  81. 


COMMUNITY  AT  NA  TICK.  2  39 

Charles  River,  eighteen  miles  southwest  from 
Boston.  They  called  it  Natick,  "  a  place  of  hills." 
It  was  granted  to  the  praying  Indians  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Dedham,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Eliot.  This 
grant  was  confirmed  by  the  General  Court.  It 
is  also  recorded  at  Natick,  that  two  families 
which  were  supposed  to  have  some  claim  up- 
on this  land,  gave  a  quitclaim  of  all  their  right 
and  interest  in  the  land  in  Natick  "  unto  the 
publick  interest  of  the  Towne  of  Naticke,  that 
so  the  praying  Indians  might  there  make  a 
Towne."  x 

When  the  land  had  been  secured,  Mr.  Eliot 
induced  a  considerable  number  of  the  praying 
Indians  to  remove  from  Nonantum,  and  from 
some  other  villages,  to  Natick.  The  settlement 
was  begun  in  the  spring  of  1651.  The  town  was 
laid  out  in  three  streets,  two  on  the  Boston  side 
of  Charles  River,  and  one  on  the  other  side.  A 
foot-bridge  had  been  built  across  the  river  the 
year  before  by  the  Indians,  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Eliot.  This  bridge  was  eighty  feet  long, 
and  nine  feet  above  the  water  in  the  middle,  with 
strong  supports  of  stone.  This  bridge  is  said  to 
have  answered  its  purpose  well,  and  to  have  stood 
against  the  floods  longer  than  some  of  those  built 
by  the  English.2  , 

1  Biglow's  History' of  Natick,  yBoston,/f  830,  p/23./ 

2  MassyHist.  3oc.  Coll.,  3d 'series,  iy.  138  arid  I7&. 


24O        JOHN  ELIOT,   THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 

Lots  of  land  were  measured  and  divided.  A 
house  lot  was  assigned  to  each  family.  The  fields 
were  sown  for  a  crop,  apple  trees  were  planted, 
and  dwellings  were  erected.  The  Indians  at  first 
built  wigwams,  because,  as  Mr.  Gookin  says,  they 
had  more  skill  in  such  building,  and  because  they 
were  less  costly,  and  warmer.1  In  the  course  of 
time,  however,  the  Indians  built  houses  like  those 
of  the  English  Colonists,  with  partitions  and  with 
cellars  underneath.  They  also  built  a  fort  of  the 
trunks  of  trees  set  in  the  ground,  in  circular  form. 
This  stockade  covered  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of 
ground.  They  also  built,  with  a  little  assistance 
from  an  English  carpenter,  a  large  framed  house, 
fifty  feet  long,  and  twenty-five  feet  wide,  twelve 
feet  between  the  floors.  This  building  was  for 
the  common  use.  The  lower  part  was  a  place  for 
worship  on  the  Lord's  day.  On  other  days  it  was 
used  as  a  schoolroom.  The  second  floor  was  a 
storehouse  for  furs,  and  other  goods.  One  corner 
of  this  storeroom  was  separated  from  the  rest 
by  a  partition,  for  the  use  of  Mr.  Eliot.  Here 
he  had  a  bed,  which  he  occupied  as  often  as  he 
had  occasion  to  remain  over  night.  Governor 
Endicott  praised  the  ingenuity  and  the  industry 
of  the  Indians,  "in  hewing  and  squaring  their 
timber,  the  sawing  of  the  boards,  and  making  a 
chimney,  making  also  the  ground-sells,  and  wall- 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  181. 


THE  INDIAN  COMMl'  \'l  I'Y. 


pi;  Ucs,  mortising,  and  letting  in  the  studds  into 
tin-in,  —  there  being  but  one  Englishman  to  show 
,  and  he  only  two  days. 


"1 


XL 

THE  next  business  was  the  organization  of  thr 
Indian  Community.  Mr.  Eliot  induced  them  to 
adopt  the  plan  of  government  which 

Y      ,  }     .      .        ,  .       .         ,       Organization 

he  had  recommended  in  his  book,  of  the  Indian 
"The  Christian  Commonwealth";  a  Comraunlty- 
plan  which  he  had  borrowed  from  the  eighteenth 
chapter  of  Exodus.  The  people  elected  their 
own  rulers.  They  chose  first  a  ruler  of  a  hun- 
dred; then  two  rulers  of  fifties;  and  then  rulers 
of  tens,  whom  they  called  tithing  men.  They 
also  entered  into  a  civil  compact,  which  they 
called  a  Covenant.  It  was  written  by  Mr.  Eliot, 
and  the  record  of  it  is  probably  the  earliest  public 
record  in  existence  in  the  language  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Indians.  It  is  dated  September  24,  1651. 
and  is  in  these  words :  — 

"We  doe  give  ourselves  and  our  children  unto  God, 
to  be  His  people.  He  shall  rule  us  in  all  our  all.iiis,  not 
only  in  our  religion,  and  affairs  of  the  Church,  (these 
we  desire  as  soon  as  we  can,  if  God  will,)  but  also  in  all 
our  works  and  affairs  of  this  world.  God  shall  rule  over 
us.  The  Lord  is  our  Judge.  The  Lord  is  our  Law- 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  scries,  iv.  190,  also  ist  scries,  i.  181. 

1 6 


242         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

giver.  The  Lord  is  our  King.  He  will  save  us.  The 
Wisdome  which  God  hath  taught  us  in  his  Booke,  that 
shall  guide  us  and  direct  us  in  the  way.  O  Jehovah, 
teach  us  wisdome  to  find  out  thy  wisdome  in  thy  Scrip- 
tures. Let  the  grace  of  Christ  help  us,  because  Christ 
is  the  wisdome  of  God.  Send  Thy  Spirit  into  our 
hearts,  and  let  it  teach  us.  Lord  take  us  to  be  thy 
people,  and  let  us  take  thee  to  be  our  God."1 

Two  weeks  later,  Governor  Endicott,  Mr.  Wil- 
son, and  many  others,  attended  the  religious  ser- 
vices at  Natick,  and  they  have  left  an  account  of 
what  they  saw.  The  Governor  was  much  pleased 
by  the  exhortations  and  prayers  of  the  Indians, 
and -by  the  attention  and  seriousness  of  the  con- 
gregation, which  numbered  about  one  hundred, 
and  especially  by  the  singing  of  a  psalm  by  the 
Indians  in  their  own  language.  Mr.  Wilson  de- 
scribed the  appearance  of  the  village,  the  circular 
stockade,  the  framed  common  house,  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  people,  "the  firme  high  foot-bridge 
over  the  River,  —  archwise."  He  spoke  of  the 
appearance  of  the  assembly,  the  men  seated  by 
themselves,  and  the  women  by  themselves;  of 
the  sermon  of  Mr.  Eliot,  for  an  hour  more,  about 
"Coming  to  Christ,  and  bearing  his  Yoke." 
They  found  the  Indian  school  then  in  progress, 
and  many  other  agencies  that  belonged  to  this 
missionary  settlement. 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  172. 


THE  INDIAN  COMMUNITY. 


The  laws  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  were 
extended  over  this  Indian  town,  with  certain  limi- 
tations. The  Indians  were  left  free  to  manage 
their  local  affairs  in  their  own  way.  The  chief 
of  their  officers  was  Waban,  who  was  a  man  of 
great  discretion  as  well  as  piety.  He  was  the 
natural  leader  of  the  settlement.  Two  constables 
were  chosen  each  year.  The  General  Court  ap- 
pointed Major  Gookin  to  superintend  the  various 
Indian  communities.  He  was  empowered  to  hold 
a  court,  of  which  he  was  to  be  the  presiding 
judge,  and  of  which  certain  officers  chosen  by 
the  Indians  were  to  be  members.  The  powers 
of  this  court  were  such  as  county  courts  among 
the  English  exercised.1  The  Indian  settlement 
had  the  full  and  hearty  good  will  of  the  white 
people  of  the  vicinity.  Natick  was  the  model 
for  a  number  of  other  Indian  communities,  which 
were  organized  within  the  next  thirty  years  by 
Mr.  Eliot  There  seems  to  have  been  in  these 
communities  a  combination  of  the  private  owner- 
ship of  houses  and  house  lots  with  the  tribal 
ownership  and  use  of  those  buildings  and  lands 
that  belonged  to  the  community.  Major  Gookin, 
while  he  was  the  Indian  Commissioner,  made 
visits  to  all  the  towns  of  praying  Indians,  in  com- 
pany with  Mr.  Eliot.  He  has  left  an  interesting 
account  of  three  such  visits,  made  in  1673  and 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  177-184. 


244        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

1674,  which  contains  the  only  definite  informa- 
tion of  the  Indian  communities  that  has  come 
down  to  us.  He  found  fourteen  of  these  com- 
munities. Each  of  the  older  communities  had 
its  Indian  reservation,  consisting  of  from  two 
thousand  to  six  or  seven  thousand  acres  of  land. 
Each  had  its  place  of  worship,  its  school,  and  its 
teacher.  Mr.  Eliot  had  trained  a  number  of 
young  Indians  as  preachers  for  these  congrega- 
tions, and  he  went,  from  time  to  time,  to  the 
people  to  introduce  preachers,  who  were  accepted 
by  them  with  great  joy.  They  were  in  the  habit 
of  observing  the  Lord's  day,  and  of  meeting  for 
worship  and  religious  instruction  on  that  day. 
The  Indians  to  whom  Mr.  Eliot  had  preached 
at  Neponset  had  removed  to  Pakeemitt,  within 
the  present  limits  of  Stoughton.  They  had  a 
ruler,  a  constable,  and  a  schoolmaster.  Mr. 
John  Eliot,  Jr.,  preached  to  them  once  a  fort- 
night for  a  number  of  years,  until  his  decease. 
Pawtucket,  on  the  Merrimac,  where  Mr.  Eliot 
began  to  preach  very  early,  was  a  community 
of  about  seventy-five  praying  Indians.  Their 
teacher  was  Samuel,  who  had  been  educated  at 
the  expense  of  the  English  Society.  Once  a 
year  there  was  a  great  gathering  of  Indians  from 
a  large  extent  of  country  to  fish  at  the  falls  of  the 
Merrimac.  This  was  the  time  when  Mr.  Eliot 
was  able  to  reach  a  large  number  of  strangers. 


INDIAN  CHURCHES. 


245 


Other  communities  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Con- 
cord, Marlborough,  Grafton,  Uxbridge,  Wood- 
stock, Lancaster,  Worcester,  and  Brookfield. 

Mr.  Gookin  found  about  eleven  hundred  Chris- 
tian people  in  these  fourteen  towns  in  1674. 
Many  of  them  had  been  baptized,  and  a  much 
smaller  number  had  been  gathered  into  churches.1 


XII 

IN  connection  with  these  communities,  I  should 
speak  of  the  earliest  Indian  churches.  Mr.  Eliot 
desired  to  gather  the  Christian  In- 

Formation  of 

dians  into  churches  as  soon  as  they  Indian 
were  prepared  for  membership.    This 
wish  was  shared  by  a  large  number  of  the  pray- 
ing Indians.     But  Mr.  Eliot  was  a  cautious  man, 
though  bold  and  decided  when  he  was  sure  that 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  180-195.  The  following 
are  the  names  of  the  towns  mentioned  by  Mr.  Gookin :  — 


Naticke, 

Pakeemitt,  or  Punkapaog, 

Hassanamesitt, 

Okommakamesit, 

Wamesit  or  Pawtucket, 

Nashobah, 

Magunkaquog, 

Manchage, 

Chabanakongkomun, 

Maannexit, 

Quantisset, 

Wabquisset, 

Pakachoog, 

Waeuntug, 


6,000  acres,  29  families,  145  persons. 


6,000  ' 

12     "      60     " 

8,000  ' 

12 

60     " 

6,000  * 

IO 

50     " 

2,500  « 

15 

75    " 

2,600  « 

10 

50   « 

3,000  ' 

II 

55    " 

Unknown,  12 

60 

9 

45 

"      20 

IOO 

"       20 

IOO 

"       30 

150 

"       20 

IOO 

"     10    "    50 

246         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

the  time  for  action  had  come.  There  were  rea- 
sons for  special  care  in  this  matter.  The  Indians, 
although  sincere  in  their  professions,  were  easily 
led  astray  by  those  who  lived  by  pandering  to 
their  weaknesses.  Although  it  was  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  the  Colony  to  sell  strong  drink 
to  them,  the  laws  were  constantly  violated,  and 
the  work  of  the  missionary  was  hindered  by  the 
lapses  of  his  people  into  intemperance.  After 
the  Indians  had  orchards  of  their  own,  and  fields 
of  grain,  they  learned  to  distil  strong  liquors  for 
themselves.  Intemperance  was  sure  to  lead  these 
weak  people  into  other  forms  of  evil.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  some,  who  had  run  well  for  a 
time,  became  apostates,  and  went  back  to  the 
vices  of  the  pagans. 

It  appears  from  a  number  of  circumstances  that 
public  opinion  in  the  Colony  was  never  quite 
favorable  to  the  formation  of  Indian  churches, 
because  the  majority  of  the  people  did  not  trust 
the  Indians.  There  were  many  who  believed  that 
it  was  enough  to  gather  them  into  communities 
like  the  one  at  Natick,  where  they  could  have 
regular  instruction  from  their  ministers,  without 
organizing  them  into  churches.  Mr.  Eliot  did 
trust  the  Indians,  because  he  knew  them  so  well, 
but  he  accepted  the  Puritan  doctrine  of  a  con- 
verted church  membership,  and  he  did  not  think 
it  would  be  wise  to  admit  them  to  full  communion 


INDIAN  CHURCHES. 


in  the  churches  until  they  had  been  sufficiently 
proved. 

So  he  acted  with  great  caution.  He  taught  the 
praying  Indians  very  carefully  the  larger  catechism 
which  he  had  prepared.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  had  a  class  of  catechumens  which  he  met  reg- 
ularly, and  to  which  he  gave  a  great  deal  of  time. 
In  August,  1652,  he  called  together  the  pastors 
of  the  churches  to  hear  the  statements  which  the 
Indians  might  make  of  "  their  experience  in  the 
Lord's  work  upon  their  hearts."  Two  years  later 
the  Indians  were  called  a  second  time  before  a 
council  of  the  ministers  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
hope  that  was  in  them.  The  questions  and  the 
answers  were  taken  down,  and  they  are  in  print. 
They  show  the  care  that  was  used  to  test  the  In- 
dians as  to  their  knowledge  of  religious  truth,  and 
as  to  the  sincerity  of  their  religious  professions. 
They  showed  that  they  had  made  great  progress 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  in  spiritual 
discernment.  But  it  was  not  until  1660  that  the 
first  church  among  the  praying  Indians  was 
formed  at  Natick.  Mr.  Eliot  baptized  the  cate- 
chumens, and  administered  to  them  the  Lord's 
Supper.  From  that  time  the  church  at  Natick  was 
recognized  as  a  regular  Congregational  church, 
with  its  own  officers  and  its  regular  worship,  and 
with  the  Christian  sacraments.  It  is  not  known 
how  many  members  it  had  in  the  beginning,  but 


248         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

in  1670  it  had  between  forty  and  fifty  communi- 
cants. In  1671  the  second  Indian  church  was 
gathered  at  Hassanamesett,  within  the  present 
town  of  Grafton.  "  This  church  had  a  meeting- 
house for  the  worship  of  God  after  the  English 
fashion  of  building."  It  had  a  native  pastor,  and 
a  ruling  elder,  and  a  deacon.  There  were  sixteen 
members  of  the  church  living  in  the  town,  and 
several  others  living  in  other  places.  There  were 
in  the  community  about  thirty  baptized  persons.1 
A  few  other  Indian  churches  were  organized,  but 
the  number  was  never  large.  Some  Indians  were 
members  of  the  English  churches  in  the  Colony. 
They  preferred  to  be  admitted  to  such  churches, 
and  they  were  welcomed. 

In  the  training  of  Indian  preachers,  Mr.  Eliot 
was  very  successful.  It  was  his  opinion  that  na- 
tive Indians  were  better  fitted  to  preach  to  their 
own  people  than  others  can  be.  He  lived  to  see 
twenty-four  such  preachers  raised  up,  and  pre- 
pared for  their  work,  many  of  them  by  his  own 
instrumentality.  We  have  the  authority  of  Dr.  A. 
C.  Thompson  for  the  statement  that,  after  all  that 
has  been  done  for  Indian  missions  during  the 
present  century,  it  is  not  certain  that  there  are 
as  many  well  qualified  Indian  preachers  to-day 
as  there  were  two  centuries  ago.2 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  184,  185. 

2  Protestant  Missions,  71. 


THE  INDIAN  BIBLE. 


XIII 

IN  addition  to  the  care  of  these  settlements  of 
praying  Indians,  Mr.  Eliot  was  engaged  for  al- 
most forty  years  in  preparing  to  The Translation 
translate  the  Bible  into  the  language  oftneBible- 
of  the  Massachusetts  Indians,  and  in  the  trans- 
lation itself.  He  was  at  work  upon  it  as  long  as 
he  lived.  This  was  his  greatest  work.  He  held 
the  opinion  that  the  people  could  not  become 
intelligent  and  stable  Christians  until  they  had 
the  Sacred  Scriptures  in  their  own  language,  and 
were  able  to  read  them.  For  years  after  he  was 
able  to  speak  the  language  himself,  and  to  teach 
the  Indians  to  read  it,  he  did  not  venture  to  hope 
that  he  could  put  the  Bible  in  printed  form  into 
their  language.  But  when  he  found  that  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  do  it,  he  accepted  it  as  the 
crowning  work  of  his  life.  The  language  was 
at  best  that  of  a  barbarous  people,  —  a  language, 
we  are  told,  without  poetry  or  song.  To  put 
the  great  mass  of  inspired  thought,  which  came 
to  him  in  the  forms  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  speech, 
into  a  language  so  barren  of  words  to  express 
spiritual  truth  was  a  most  difficult  task.  The 
word  "book,"  for  example,  did  not  exist  in  the 
Indian  speech,  for  they  had  no  books.  So  he 
must  borrow  the  word  from  another  language. 
They  had  no  word  for  Testament,  or  for  Christ, 


2  5^        JOHN  ELIOT,   THE  APOSTLE   TO    THE  INDIANS. 

and  no  fit  word  to  be  used  as  the  name  of  God; 
and  so  all  these  English  words  were  transferred 
in  order  to  make  the  title  page  for  the  Indian 
Bible.  Even  the  word  "  salt  "  had  to  be  put  into 
the  language,  and  with  that  a  great  many  other 
words  to  stand  for  things  that  are  commonplaces 
among  civilized  people,  but  are  strange  to  people 
without  culture. 

Our  present  Revised  Version  of  the  Bible  was 
the  work  of  almost  one  hundred  of  the  selected 
scholars  of  England  and  America.  But  it  was 
only  a  revision  of  an  English  Version  that  was 
itself  the  work  of  many  minds,  two  centuries 
and  a  half  earlier.  Almost  every  one  of  the 
great  translations  of  the  Bible  has  been  made 
by  the  help  of  a  large  number  of  men  trained 
to  scholarly  investigation.  But  Eliot  had  no 
companions  in  his  work  except  such  Indian  in- 
terpreters as  he  had  first  taught  to  read  and  to 
write.  But  he  labored  at  his  desk  early  and  late, 
year  after  year,  amid  the  calls  for  preaching  and 
parochial  work  among  his  own  people  ;  —  the 
calls  for  preaching  and  teaching,  and  training 
preachers  and  teachers  for  his  Indian  congrega- 
tions;—  the  care  of  his  family,  the  care  also  of 
that  Society  in  England  from  which  all  his  funds 
must  come,  and  the  care  of  all  those  commu- 
nities of  praying  Indians.  How  wonderful  that 
the  translation  got  itself  done  at  last!  It  is,  by 


PUBLICATION  OF  ELIOT S  BIBLE.  25! 

the  concession  of  all,  one  of  the  wonders  of 
literary  history. 

The  translation  of  the  New  Testament  was 
published  in  Cambridge  in  September,  1661, 
about  thirty  years  after  Mr.  Eliot  landed  in  New 
England,  and  fifteen  years  after  he  began  preach- 
ing to  the  Indians.  That  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  published  in  1663.  The  printers,  and  the 
printing  press  and  types,  and  all  the  materials 
necessary  for  the  printing,  were  sent  over  from 
England  by  the  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel  in  New  England,  which  Society  paid  the 
expenses  of  the  publication.  The  number  of 
copies  in  the  first  edition  was  probably  fifteen 
hundred.1  The  expense  was  not  far  from^i,ooo. 
It  was  the  first  Bible  printed  in  America.  It 
was  not  till  the  middle  of  the  next  century  that 
the  Bible  in  English  was  printed  in  this  country. 
This  edition  lasted  about  twenty  years.  A  large 
number  of  the  younger  Indians  were  able  to  read 
it.  It  was  the  household  book  in  hundreds  of 
cabins  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  the  most  effect- 
ive means  which  the  missionary  was  able  to 
employ  in  his  work. 

In  1680,  a  second  edition  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  printed,  and  five  years  later  the  second 
edition  of  the  Old  Testament  was  also  printed. 
Mr.  Eliot  was  assisted  in  the  revision  by  John 

1  Francis,  Life  of  Eliot,  225. 


252         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 

Cotton,  Jr.,  of  Plymouth,  who  had  acquired  a 
good  knowledge  of  the  language.  Mr.  Eliot  was 
eager  to  have  the  revision  completed.  "  My 
age,"  he  says,  "makes  me  importunate.  I  shall 
depart  joyfully  may  I  but  leave  the  Bible  among 
them,  for  it  is  the  word  of  life.  ...  I  desire  to 
see  it  done  before  I  die,  and  I  am  so  deep  in 
years  that  I  cannot  expect  to  live  long." 

But  the  two  Testaments  were  bound  up  to- 
gether ;  the  Psalms  in  Indian  meter,  with  a 
catechism,  were  added ;  and  this  second  edition 
of  two  thousand  copies  was  in  use  three  or  four 
years  before  the  death  of  the  translator.  The 
cost  of  this  edition  was  ^1,000.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  learn  that  one  of  the  printers  was  an 
Indian.  These  two  editions  made  about  thirty- 
five  hundred  copies  in  the  language  of  this  tribe. 
It  was  the  most  precious  book  in  many  Indian 
homes.  It  served  to  keep  alive  the  piety  of  the 
Indians  in  the  dark  days  that  were  before  them. 

It  is  a  rare  and  curious  book  now,  the  only 
memorial  of  a  language  that  has  passed  away 
with  the  people  who  used  it.  It  is  the  most 
valuable  means  for  studying  the  dialects  of  the 
Algonquin  tongue.  About  one  hundred  copies 
remain  in  libraries  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
It  commands  a  higher  price  at  auction  sales  than 
almost  any  other  book.  Only  a  very  few  now 
living  can  read  it.  One  word,  at  least,  has  been 


PROGRESS  OF   THE  MISSIONS.  253 

adopted  into  our  language  from  Eliot's  Bible. 
The  great  leaders  among  the  Israelites,  like 
Joshua  and  Gideon  and  Samson,  were  called 
in  that  Bible  Mug-Wumps,  and  this  is  a  good 
name  for  the  independent  leaders  and  voters 
among  our  citizens.1 

XIV 

WHILE  Mr.  Eliot  was  securing  the  formation 
of  a  Missionary  Society  in  England  for  the 
support  of  Indian  Missions,  and  in 

.'  Progress  of  the 

gathering  the    praying    Indians    into  work  among 

?.  &,  thelndians. 

communities  and  churches,  and  trans- 
lating the  Bible  into  their  language,  he  was 
laying  a  broad  foundation  for  permanent  work 
arnong  them.  He  confidently  expected  that  the 
race  would  become  a  civilized  and  a  Christian 
people.  Some  of  the  "  wise  and  sage "  Indians 
were  accustomed  to  say,  at  that  time,  that  within 
fifty  or  a  hundred  years  all  the  Indians  would 
become  like  the  English.  The  exceptionally 
rapid  progress  of  the  missionary  work,  during 
the  first  thirty  years,  under  the  Mayhews  and 
others  in  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  under  Eliot 
in  Massachusetts,  made  this  seem  very  probable. 
The  "  great  hope  and  inward  zeall  "  of  the  Pilgrims 

1  The  Indian  title  to  the  second  edition  of  the  Bible  is  this : 
"  Mammusse  Wuneetupanatamwe,  Up-Biblum  God  Nanesswe  Nu- 
kone  Testament  kah  wonk  Wusku  Testament." 


254        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

and  the  Puritans  led  them  to  labor  and  pray 
very  earnestly  that  it  might  be  accomplished. 

Mr.  Eliot  made  efforts  from  year  to  year  to 
obtain  a  hearing  for  the  Gospel  among  the  Mo- 
hegans  and  the  Narragansetts,  those  more  pow- 
erful tribes,  of  whom  the  Massachusetts  and  the 
Pakonoket  tribes  were  afraid.  He  petitioned  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Colonies  to  provide  for 
the  "  instruction  of  all  the  Indians  in  all  parts," 
and  he  told  the  Indians  that  he  had  done  so. 
"The  Mohegans,"  he  says,  "were  much  troubled 
lest  the  Court  of  Commissioners  should  take  some 
course  to  teach  them  to  pray  to  God,"  and  their 
sachem  went  to  Hartford  to  express  "his  great 
unwillingness  thereunto." l 

This  opposition  of  the  sachems  to  missionary 
work  among  their  people  was  very  decided.  Mr. 
Eliot  tells  us  that  one  of  them  came  to  his  re- 
ligious service,  and,  after  the  Lecture,  protested 
against  his  "  proceeding  to  make  a  Town,"  and 
told  him  "that  all  the  sachems  in  the  country 
were  against  it."  He  was  so  violent  that  all  the 
Indians  "were  filled  with  fear,  their  countenances 
grew  pale,  and  most  of  them  slunk  away."  But 
Mr.  Eliot  replied  to  him  with  equal  boldness.  "  / 
told  him''  he  says,  "  that  it  was  God?s  work  I  was 
about,  and  that  God  was  with  me.  ...  I  do  not 
fear  you,"  I  said,  "nor  all  the  sachems  in  the 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  139. 


OPPOSITION  OF  THE  SACHEMS.  255 

country.  ...  I  am  resolved  to  go  on  with  my 
work ;  and  do  you  touch  me  if  you  dare.  .  .  .  And 
it  pleased  God,"  we  read  in  Mr.  Eliot's  record, 
"  that  his  spirit  shrunk,  and  fell  before  me."  So 
it  was  that  this  humble  man  of  God,  "  whose 
heart  was  full  of  love,  and  who  with  the  most 
winning  gentleness  would  interest  himself  in  the 
wants  of  the  little  children  in  the  wigwam,"  was 
able,  when  the  occasion  demanded,  "  to  face  with- 
out dismay  the  savage  chiefs,  and  answer  their 
violence  with  a  firmness  before  which  the  stout- 
est of  them  quailed." 

Still,  the  missionary  was  often  in  great  perso- 
nal danger,  for  the  sachems  and  the  Powwows,  or 
medicine  men,  believed  that  they  should  lose 
their  power  over  the  people  if  the  religion  of 
the  English  should  make  progress  among  them. 
The  sachems  would  sometimes  drive  him  out 
with  violence,  and  would  tell  him  that,  if  he  came 
again,  it  would  be  at  his  peril.  Still  he  continued 
his  work,  and  planned  as  wisely  as  he  was  able 
for  its  extension.  He  sent  two  discreet  Indians 
at  one  time  with  a  generous  present  to  the  most 
powerful  sachem  among  the  Narragansetts,  with 
the  purpose  of  teaching  his  people  the  Bible. 
The  sachem  accepted  the  present,  as  Indians 
generally  do,  but  refused  to  receive  religious  in- 
struction. But  the  young  Indians  went  about 
among  the  people,  and  found  them  willing  and 


2 5 6        JOHN  ELIOT,   THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 

eager  to  receive  what  they  had  to  tell  them  of 
the  Gospel.  He  was  continually  sending  his 
trained  native  helpers  on  missions  among  the 
pagan  Indians,  and  they  found  the  way  open  to 
do  good  among  the  people,  though  they  seldom 
had  any  favor  from  the  chiefs. 

There  is  a  story  mentioned  by  a  number  of  the 
earlier  biographers  to  this  effect :  that  Mr.  Eliot 
once  met  King  Philip  himself,  and  urged  him  to 
accept  the  Christian  faith,  and  to  encourage  the 
teaching  of  the  Bible  among  his  people.  It  is 
said  that  the  chieftain  rose  to  his  feet,  and,  taking 
hold  of  a  button  on  Mr.  Eliot's  coat,  said  with 
vehemence,  "  I  care  no  more  for  your  Gospel  than 
I  care  for  that  button''  This  story,  if  true,  shows 
some  of  the  causes  of  King  Philip's  War. 

Mr.  Eliot  pushed  his  work  forward  wherever 
he  was  permitted.  During  the  twenty-five  years 
from  1650  to  1675  he  was  enlarging  the  circle  of 
his  influence  every  year.  He  made  Natick  the 
centre  of  his  operations,  but  he  went  himself  to 
a  great  number  of  Indian  villages,  some  of  them 
far  away.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  for  him 
to  send  Indians  over  the  path  to  mark  the  trees, 
or  to  cut  a  path  for  the  missionary  through  the 
thick  trees.1  He  went  four  times  in  one  year  to 
Nashaway,  now  Lancaster,  though  it  was  forty 
miles  away.  He  went  generally  by  invitation. 

i  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  123. 


THE  RIDE    TO  BROOKFIELD. 


The  aged  sachem  at  Quaboag  (now  Brookfield), 
sixty  miles  away,  asked  him  to  come  and  teach 
him  and  his  people.  But  there  had  been  hostili- 
ties between  the  Narragansetts  and  the  Mohe- 
gans,  and  the  road  was  unsafe.  So  the  sachem 
at  Nashaway  came,  with  twenty  armed  men,  to 
escort  the  missionary.  He  took  some  of  his 
English  friends  as  an  additional  guard.  But 
the  journey  proved  to  be  a  hard  one.  There 
was  continual  rain,  and  they  had  no  protection 
from  the  storm  by  night  or  by  day.  "  I  was  not 
dry,  night  nor  day,"  he  says,  "  from  the  third  day 
of  the  week  unto  the  sixth,  but  so  travelled  and  at 
night  pull  off  my  boots,  wring  my  stockings,  and 
on  with  them  again,  and  so  continued.  .  .  .  The 
rivers  also  were  raised,  so  that  we  were  wet  in 
riding  through.  But  that  which  added  to  my 
affliction  was,  my  horse  tyred,  so  that  I  was 
forced  to  let  my  horse  go  empty,  and  ride  on 
one  of  the  men's  horses,  which  I  took  along  with 
me.  Yet  God  helped  me.  I  considered  that 
word  of  God,  *  Endure  hardness  as  a  good  sol- 
dier of  Jesus  Christ.'  "*  At  the  end  of  the  jour- 
ney, the  missionary  found  "sundry  who  were 
hungry  after  instruction,"  so  that  he  was  well 
paid  for  his  journey.  He  records  with  thankful- 
ness that  neither  himself  nor  any  of  his  company 
were  hurt,  but  came  home  in  safety  and  in  health. 

i  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  125. 
17 


2  5 ^         JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 

I  do  not  know  where  to  look  for  more  interest- 
ing journals  of  missionary  work  than  we  have  in 
Major  Gookin's  narrative  of  an  official  tour  which 
he  took  with  Mr.  Eliot  through  the  country  of 
the  praying  Indians  the  year  before  the  great  war. 
They  went  on  horseback,  through  the  forests, 
Major  Gookin  as  the  magistrate,  and  Mr.  Eliot 
as  the  apostle  to  the  Indians,  both  acting  under 
the  authority  of  the  General  Court.  The  Law 
and  the  Gospel,  civilization  and  religion,  went 
together.  Setting  out  from  Natick,  they  visited 
Stoughton,  Pawtucket,  Littleton,  Hopkinton, 
Lancaster,  Dudley,  Uxbridge,  Woodstock,  and 
Brookfield.  Eliot  spent  the  days  in  journey- 
ing and  in  preaching.  In  the  evenings  he  met 
his  old  friends  in  their  wigwams,  and  heard  and 
answered  their  questions,  talked  with  the  little 
children,  comforted  the  sick  and  the  afflicted, 
and  led  them  all  to  a  closer  fellowship  with  the 
Master. 

XV 

THE  good  work  among  the  Indians  continued 

to  increase  up  to  the  beginning  of  King  Philip's 

War,  in  1675.   There  were  at  that  time 

Resultsofthe  111  T      v 

work  among       about  eleven  hundred  praying  Indians 

on    the   mainland    in    Massachusetts, 

who  were  distributed  in  fourteen  towns,  seven  of 

which  had  tracts  of  land  secured  to  them  by  the 


MISSIONS  IN   THE   OLD  COLONY.  259 

General  Court.  Schools  for  the  children  of  In- 
dians had  been  in  operation  in  most  of  these 
towns  for  many  years,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  younger  Indians  were  able  to  read,  and  a 
smaller  proportion  were  able  to  write.  The 
preachers  and  the  teachers  in  these  villages  were 
nearly  all  Indians.  There  were  two  organized 
churches  within  this  field,  with  not  quite  one 
hundred  members. 

Outside  the  field  of  Mr.  Eliot's  direct  labors  a 
more  extended  missionary  work  had  been  carried 
on  within  the  Old  Colony,  and  on  the  Islands, 
and  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  This 
work  probably  began  a  little  earlier  than  that  on 
the  mainland  in  Massachusetts.1  It  was  prose- 
cuted by  a  number  of  enterprising  and  devoted 
missionaries,  among  whom  were  the  Mayhews, 
father,  son,  and  grandson,  Richard  Bourne, 
Thomas  Tupper,  John  Cotton,  Jr.,  and  Samuel 
Treat;  and  in  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut, 
Roger  Williams,  Abrahan  Pierson,  and  James 
Fitch.  Some  of  these  missionaries  were  in  charge 
of  English  churches;  others  gave  their  whole 
time  to  the  work  among  the  Indians.2  In  1675 
there  were  about  twenty-five  hundred  praying 
Indians  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  on  the  Islands. 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  3d  series,  iv.  109.    New  England  Me- 
morial, 379,  384. 

2  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  196-210;  3d  series,  iv. 
107-118.     New  England  Memorial,  379-400. 


26O        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 


Mr.  Eliot  states  that  there  were  four  churches  on 
the  same  ground  at  that  time.1  Many  of  these  In- 
dians had  been  civilized,  and  gathered  into  towns, 
which  towns  had  tracts  of  land,  larger  or  smaller, 
secured  to  the  Indians  by  the  government  of  the 
Colony.  Most  of  the  Indian  congregations  had 
native  pastors.  A  large  number  of  the  people 
were  able  to  read  and  write  their  own  language. 

These  missionaries  received  salaries  from  the 
Society  in  England.  Mr.  Eliot  had  ^50  a  year, 
Mr.  Mayhew  ^30,  and  Mr.  Bourne  ^25.  There 
was  a  constant  interchange  of  fraternal  greetings, 
and  of  labors.  Mr.  Mayhew  assisted  at  the  or- 
ganization of  the  church  at  Natick,  and  Mr.  Eliot 
at  the  organization  of  the  church  at  Marshpee, 
and  at  the  ordination  of  a  number  of  pastors. 

An  interesting  incident  has  been  preserved 
which  shows  the  liberal  spirit  of  Mr.  Eliot,  in 
connection  with  the  account  of  the  well  known 
visit  to  Boston  of  Father  Gabriel  Druillette,  a 
Jesuit  missionary  from  Canada,  in  1650.  During 
his  stay  in  Massachusetts,  he  called  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Eliot  in  Roxbury.  He  writes  in  his  jour- 
nal that  Eliot  invited  him  to  lodge  with  him,  as 
the  night  had  overtaken  him.  These  two  mis- 
sionaries —  the  Jesuit  and  the  Puritan  —  had 
much  discourse  concerning  their  work  among 

1  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  ist  series,  i.  196-210;  3d  series,  iv.  107-118. 
Also  Francis,  Life  of  Eliot,  263-265. 


THE   INDIAN   WAR. 


26l 


the  Indians.  The  priest  wrote  in  his  journal 
that  Eliot  treated  him  with  respect  and  affection, 
and  invited  him  to  pass  the  winter  with  him. 
The  morning  and  evening  devotions  of  the 
Puritan  household  must  have  kept  their  wonted 
course, — while  the  faithful  priest  had  his  oratory, 
his  orisons,  and  his  matin  mass  before  breaking 
his  fast.  So  easily  do  good  people  of  different 
faiths  approach  each  other,  when  they  are  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  the  one  Lord,  and  to  the 
salvation  of  their  fellow  men. 


XVI 

IF  peaceful  relations  could  have  been  con- 
tinued between  the  Colonists  and  the  aborigi- 
nes, it  is  probable  that  these  efforts  KingpMiip's 
to  civilize  and  Christianize  the  In-  War< 
dians  would  have  been  so  far  successful  that  the 
great  body  of  them  would  have  accepted  the 
religion  and  the  civilization  of  the  English  set- 
tlers. That,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  expecta- 
tion of  some  of  the  more  enlightened  Indians. 
Still,  the  method  of  separating  the  Christian 
Indians  from  their  countrymen  may  not  have 
been  as  wise  as  it  seemed  to  Mr.  Eliot.  It  is 
not  the  method  of  modern  missionaries.  The 
love  of  independence  was  a  strong  sentiment 
among  the  savages.  The  settlements  of  the 


262 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO   THE  INDIANS. 


English  were  crowding  upon  their  hunting 
grounds,  and  the  leaders  among  the  more  power- 
ful tribes,  especially  the  Mohegans  and  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  believed  that  they  should  become  a 
subject  race  if  they  permitted  civilization  and 
Christianity  to  change  the  habits  of  their  people. 
-These  pagan  chiefs  had  a  powerful  leader  in 
King  Philip,  the  son  of  Massasoit,  chief  sachem 
of  the  Wampanoags.  In  him  the  highest  spirit 
of  his  race  was  impersonated,  and  he  led  the 
pagan  Indians  in  a  desperate  war,  in  which  their 
watchword  was  victory  or  death.  The  war  cov- 
ered all  New  England.  For  almost  three  years 
there  was  a  reign  of  terror.  All  the  New  Eng- 
land Colonies  united  their  forces.  From  the 
beginning  the  war  was  cruel  and  desperate. 
The  burning  of  Lancaster  and  Medfield  and 
Brookfield  and  Groton  and  Mar] borough  and 
Warwick  and  Providence,  —  the  massacre  of 
helpless  women  and  children,  —  the  scalping  of 
husbands  and  brothers,  —  the  infernal  torture  of 
prisoners,  —  roused  the  whole  of  New  England 
to  a  vigorous,  and  in  the  end  a  successful  war. 

But  the  war  swept  away  the  largest  number  of 
the  praying  Indians,  in  that  part  of  Massachu- 
setts which  was  the  field  of  Eliot's  labors.  Their 
towns  were  located  where  the  contest  raged  most 
fiercely.  They  were  not  trusted  by  either  party. 
Philip  suspected  them  all,  because  they  had 


THE  INDIANS  DISTRUSTED.  263 

already  yielded  themselves  to  the  laws  and  the 
religion  of  the  Colonists.  The  English  did  not 
trust  them  because  they  believed  that,  with  the 
Indians,  the  ties  of  blood  would  be  stronger  than 
the  obligation  to  their  new  friends.  This  dis- 
trust was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  praying  Indians,  from  the  newer  towns  were 
induced  to  fight  with  Philip  on  the  side  of  their 
race.  At  the  same  time,  the  great  body  of  the 
Christian  Indians  were  entirely  loyal  to  the 
English.  Several  hundred  of  them  enlisted  in 
the  army,  and  taught  the  English  how  to  cope 
with  the  tactics  which  the  Indians  always  follow. 
Many  times  the  army  was  saved  from  a  treach- 
erous ambush  by  the  skill  of  these  allies.  "  I 
contend,"  says  Major  Gookin,  "  that  the  small 
company  of  our  Indian  friends  have  taken  and 
slain  of  the  enemy,  in  the  summer  of  1676,  not 
less  than  four  hundred,  and  their  fidelity  and 
courage  are  testified  by  the  certificates  of  their 
captains." 

And  yet,  amid  the  excitements  of  the  time,  the 
friendly  Indians  were  suspected.  The  slightest 
occurrence  was  enough  to  kindle  the  passions 
of  the  people.  A  barn  was  burned.  It  was 
afterwards  discovered  that  it  was  set  on  fire  by 
the  hostile  Indians.  But  the  inhabitants  at  once 
imputed  the  crime  to  the  Christian  Indians,  and 
a  number  of  them  were  shot  down  before  their 


264        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE   INDIAN'S. 

own  doors.  Mr.  Eliot,  now  more  than  seventy 
years  of  age,  defended  the  Indians  when  they 
were  unjustly  accused.  In  some  instances  Mr. 
Gookin  and  Mr.  Eliot  proved  before  a  court  of 
justice  that  the  charges  against  the  Indians  were 
unjust,  and  secured  their  release.  This  made 
them  unpopular  with  the  people,  who  accused 
them  of  being  in  sympathy  with  robbers  and 
murderers. 

In  October,  1675,  the  General  Court  passed  an 
order  that  the  Indians  at  Natick  should  be  forth- 
with removed  to  Deer  Island  for  safe  keeping. 
There  were  at  that  time  some  two  hundred  of 
them,  and  their  removal  would  break  up  the 
settlement,  which  had  been  their  home  for 
twenty-four  years.  No  charge  was  made  against 
them,  except  that  it  was  feared  they  might 
become  traitors.  They  sadly  but  quietly  sub- 
mitted. Their  venerable  missionary  met  them 
on  the  banks  of  Charles  River,  and  exhorted 
them  to  submit  patiently,  and  to  remember  that 
"  through  much  tribulation  they  must  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God."  All  who  witnessed  the 
scene  were  deeply  affected  by  the  quiet  resigna- 
tion "  of  the  poor  souls,  encouraging  and  ex- 
horting one  another  with  prayers  and  tears." 
Later,  the  Christian  Indians  of  Punkapog,  and 
of  a  number  of  other  towns,  were  also  removed 
to  Deer  Island  and  Long  Island,  so  that  the  whole 


CAPTIVITY  OF   THE  INDIANS.  265 

number  in  captivity  was  more  than  five  hundred. 
They  were  exposed  to  much  suffering  from  the 
lack  of  food  and  proper  care,  and  many  of  them 
died  during  their  confinement.  Eliot  and  Gookin, 
and  other  friends,  visited  them  frequently,  encour- 
aging them  and  ministering  to  their  wants. 

When  the  stress  of  the  war  was  over,  the  In- 
dians were  removed  to  Cambridge.  Many  of 
them  were  very  ill  at  the  time  of  their  removal. 
Mr.  Eliot  and  Major  Gookin  devoted  themselves 
to  them,  securing  for  them  wholesome  food,  and 
such  care  and  medicine  as  their  condition  re- 
quired, so  that  the  most  of  them  recovered.  Be- 
fore winter,  they  removed  from  Cambridge.  Most 
of  them  returned  to  Natick,  and  the  other  settle- 
ments from  which  they  had  been  taken.  But 
they  had  suffered  great  losses  by  the  breaking 
up  of  their  homes.  A  large  number  had  lost 
their  lives  during  the  war.  They  came  back  in 
poverty,  with  diminished  numbers,  without  heart 
or  hope.  The  sympathy  and  confidence  which 
they  had  begun  to  cherish  toward  their  white 
neighbors  had  received  a  rude  shock.  They  felt 
that,  in  any  emergency,  they  were  powerless,  and 
that  they  had  no  means  of  securing  redress.  All 
these  things  tended  to  limit  the  progress  of  the 
missionary  work  which  had  been  so  auspiciously 
begun. 


266        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE   APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 


XVII 

MR.  ELIOT  resumed  his  regular  missionary 
labors  as  soon  as  the  war  was  over.  He  endeav- 
The  closing  ored  to  gather  such  as  remained  of 
Years.  ^he  jncjians  into  their  old  villages 

and  places  of  worship.  He  was  busy  preaching 
to  his  own  people,  and  visiting  them  at  their 
homes,  and  encouraging  schools.  His  latest 
years  were  busy  years. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  his  work  for  the 
Indians  did  not  secure  larger  and  more  perma- 
nent results.  He  laid,  as  we  have  seen,  a  broad 
foundation  for  a  great  missionary  enterprise. 
Under  favorable  circumstances,  the  churches 
which  were  gathered  by  Eliot,  and  the  May- 
hews,  and  their  associates,  would  have  grown  to 
such  numbers  and  influence  that  they  would 
have  evangelized  the  entire  race  of  Indians.  But 
those  churches  were  planted  among  a  small  and 
decaying  people.  Mr.  Bancroft  estimates  the 
whole  number  of  Indians  in  New  England,  west 
of  the  St.  Croix,  in  1675,  at  thirty  thousand,  a 
number  less  than  the  population  of  a  small  city. 
About  four  thousand  of  this  small  number,  more 
than  one  eighth,  had  already  been  evangelized. 
The  Indian  population  had  been  declining  for 
some  time  before  Europeans  came  to  settle  on 


DECLINE   OF  INDIAN  CHURCHES.  26? 

these  coasts.  It  continued  to  decline.  King 
Philip's  War  was  fatal  to  the  Indian  race  in 
these  Eastern  Colonies.  The  tribes  were  broken 
up  and  scattered  among  the  other  tribes,  so  that 
the  Indian  no  longer  appears  as  an  important 
element  of  population  here. 

Everything  was  done  that  could  be  done  to 
preserve  and  enlarge  the  Indian  churches.  In 
1684,  Mr.  Eliot  wrote  that  the  number  of  vil- 
lages of  praying  Indians  had  been  reduced  to 
four:  —  viz.  Natick,  Pawtuckett,  Stoughton,  and 
Dudley.  In  the  Old  Colony  and  on  the  islands, 
the  number  was  considerably  larger.  There  was 
some  religious  growth  in  these  communities. 
The  native  preachers  were  earnest  and  diligent 
in  their  work.  They  were  assisted  by  the  Eng- 
lish ministers,  who  had  planted  the  churches,  and 
by  their  successors.  But  the  Indian  race  faded 
away,  year  by  year,  and  the  churches  of  neces- 
sity became  smaller  and  weaker.  The  reason 
was  not  that  the  English  crowded  them  out. 
They  had  set  apart  reservations  of  land  which 
were  secured  to  the  Indians,  and  they  taught 
them  how  to  cultivate  the  land.  The  Indian  ^ 
lacked  iron  in  the  blood,  strength  of  purpose,  ' 
power  to  resist  temptation  to  intemperance  and 
to  other  vices.  Even  Christianity,  as  set  forth 
by  Eliot  and  Mayhew,  and  the  other  apostles 
to  the  Indians,  could  not  secure  the  continued 


268 


JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE    TO    THE  INDIANS. 


existence  of  the  race.  "  There  is  a  cloud,"  said 
Mr.  Eliot  in  his  old  age,  —  "a  dark  cloud  up- 
on the  work  of  the  Gospel  among  the  poor 
Indians.  The  Lord  revive  and  prosper  that 
work,  and  grant  that  it  may  live  when  I  am 
dead." 

Mr.  Eliot  had  a  serene  and  beautiful  old  age. 
His  mind  was  vigorous  and  active.  At  the  age 
of  seventy-four,  he  published  "  The  Harmony  of 
the  Gospels,"  a  work  to  which  he  had  devoted  a 
great  deal  of  study.  He  wrote  frequently  to 
England  in  regard  to  the  printing  of  his  revised 
version  of  the  Bible.  "  Our  praying  Indians,"  he 
said,  "both  on  the  islands  and  on  the  mainland, 
include  thousands  of  souls,  and  all  of  them  beg, 
cry,  and  entreat  for  Bibles.  He  carried  the  re- 
vised edition  of  the  Indian  Bible  through  the 
press  when  he  had  passed  his  eightieth  year. 
He  was  still  interested  in  the  progress  of  medi- 
cal science,  and  in  the  study  of  theology.  He 
continued  to  preach  as  long  as  his  strength 
lasted,  and  then  he  asked  his  people  at  Rox- 
bury  to  make  no  delay  in  selecting  his  successor. 
He  outlived  nearly  all  his  old  friends  in  the  min- 
istry, and  he  used  to  say  that  Richard  Mather, 
and  John  Cotton,  and  the  other  dear  friends  who 
were  waiting  for  him  in  heaven,  would  think  he 
had  gone  the  wrong  way.  His  last  words  were, 
"Welcome  joy!"  and  then,  "Pray,  pray,  pray!" 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  ELIOT.  26 Q 

He  died  on  the  2oth  of  May,  1690,  eighty-five 
years  of  age,  one  of  the  last  of  that  generation 
of  great  and  holy  men. 

He  was  buried  in  the  parish  tomb,  in  the 
old  burying  ground,  at  the  corner  of  Wash- 
ington and  Eustis  Streets,  Roxbury  (now 
Boston). 

Mrs.  Eliot  had  died  three  years  before,  March 
24,1687.  Their  children  were  :  — 

HANNAH,  born  September  17,  1633. 
JOHN,  born  August  3,  1636,  H.  C.  1656. 
JOSEPH,  born  December  20,  1638,  H.  C.  1658. 
SAMUEL,  born  June  22,  1641,  H.  C.  1660. 
AARON,  born  February  19,  1644.     Died  1655. 
BENJAMIN,  born  January  29,  1647,  H.  C.  1665. 

The  following  is  an  incomplete  list  of  his  pub- 
lications, in  addition  to  the  Indian  Bible :  — 

An  Indian  Catechism,  1655. 

The  Christian  Commonwealth,  1659. 

Baxter's    Call     to    the    Unconverted    (Translation), 

1664. 

The  Indian  Psalter,  1664. 
The  Communion  of  Churches,  1665. 
Bayley's  Practice  of  Piety  (Translation),  1665. 
The  Indian  Primer  (Indian),  1669. 
The  Logic  Primer  (Indian),  1672. 
Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  1678. 
Shepard's  Sincere  Convert  (Translation),  1689. 


27O        JOHN  ELIOT,    THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE  INDIANS. 

The  following  inscription  was  placed  upon  his 
tomb.1 

HERE   LIE   THE   REMAINS 

OF 

JOHN   ELIOT, 

THE  APOSTLE   TO   THE   INDIANS, 

ORDAINED    OVER  THE   FIRST   CHURCH, 

NOVEMBER  5,   1632. 

DIED    MAY  20,    1690, 

AGED 
LXXXVI. 

1  See  Genealogical  Register,  xiv.  220. 


IV 


Jonathan  Edwards,  and  the  Great 
Awakening 


Jonathan  Edwards,  and  the  Great 
Awakening 

HE  Great  Awakening  of  which  so  much  is 
said  in  the  books  published  in  New  Eng- 
land about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
was  connected  with  a  remarkable  declension  of 
the  religious  life  in  the  Puritan  churches.  The 
fathers  of  New  England  had  come  here  especially 
to  plant  pure  churches,  on  the  basis  of  a  member- 
ship made  up  of  those  who  had  a  genuine  reli- 
gious experience.  All  who  became  communicants 
in  those  churches  during  the  first  generation  were 
required  to  give  an  account  of  their  religious  ex- 
periences. It  was  the  confident  expectation  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  the  Puritans,  that  they  should 
be  able  to  develop  a  church  life  in  this  new  coun- 
try that  would  be  much  nearer  the  standard  of  the 
New  Testament  than  any  that  had  been  known 
since  the  time  of  the  primitive  churches.  They 
were  confident  that,  in  leaving  the  methods  of 
organization  and  of  worship  to  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  in  England,  they  had  escaped 
from  the  influences  that  tended  towards  a  weak 
and  formal  spiritual  life. 

18 


2  74     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

I 

IN  this  expectation  they  were  for  a  time  disap- 
pointed. It  is  true  a  high  standard  of  piety  was 
maintained  in  their  churches  for  thirty  or  forty 
years.  But  the  second  generation  fell  below  the 
standard  of  the  fathers.  VWe  have  the  well  known 
statement  of  Thomas  Prince,  that  "a  little  after 
1660  there  began  to  appear  a  Decay;  and  this 
increased  to  1670,  when  it  grew  very  visible  and 
threatening,  and  was  generally  complained  of  and 
bewailed  bitterly  by  the  Pious  among  them ;  and 
yet  much  more  in  1680,  when  but  few  of  the 
first  Generation  remained."1  This  state  of  things 
me  Reform-  led  to  the  calling  of  the  Reforming 
ing  synod.  JJyn_Qd,  which  met  in  Boston  in_i_678. 
It  was  made  up  of  delegates  from  the  churches 
of  Massachusetts.  This  Synod,  after  a  careful 
examination  of  the  religious  condition  of  the 
congregations,  set  forth  a  statement  which,  as 
it  is  read  now  in  the  pages  of  Cotton  Mather, 
is  simply  appalling.  They  lamented  the  ne- 
glect of  public  worship;  the  desecration  of  the 
Lord's  day;  the  lack  of  family  government;  an 
alarming  increase  of  worldliness  among  the  peo- 
ple, accompanied  by  dishonesty,  extravagance, 
lying,  intemperance,  profanity,  and  a  general  de- 
cay of  godliness  in  the  land.  The  change  was 

1  Christian  History,  Boston,  1743,  i.  84. 


DECAY  IN  THE  PURITAN  CHURCHES.  2 75 

certainly  very  great  from  the  time  when  Hugh 
Peters,  in  a  sermon  preached  in  1646  before 
Parliament,  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  the 
Corporation  of  London,  stated  in  respect  to 
Massachusetts,  "  I  have  lived  seven  years  in  a 
country  where  I  never  saw  a  beggar,  nor  heard 
an  oath,  nor  looked  upon  a  drunkard." 

The  evidence  that  there  was  a  decline  in  the 
religious  life  in  New  England  at  that  time  is 
too  decisive  to  be  questioned.  The  Election 
Sermons  preached  before  the  General  Court  of 
Plymouth  Colony,  and  of  the  Colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  and  of  that  of  Connecticut,  show 
that  the  change  in  the  churches  had  been  such 
as  to  cause  very  great  alarm.  In  Plymouth, 
Thomas  Walley  said  in  1669,  "  How  is  New 
England  fallen !  The  land  that  was  a  land  of 
Holiness  hath  lost  her  holiness."  In  Massachu- 
setts, William  Stoughton  said  to  the  Legislature 
in  1668:  "  O  what  a  sad  metamorphosis  hath  of 
later  years  passed  upon  us  in  these  churches  and 
plantations  !  Alas  !  how  is  New  England  in  dan- 
ger to  be  buried  in  its  own  ruins."  Dr.  Increase 
Mather  said  in  1678:  "Clear,  sound  conversions 
are  not  frequent.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion are  profane,  Drunkards,  Swearers,  Licentious, 
and  scoffers  at  the  Power  of  Godliness."  Rev. 
Samuel  Whitman  said  in  Connecticut  in  1714: 
"  Religion  is  on  the  Wane  among  us.  ...  We  are 


276     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

risen    up    a    Generation    that    have    in   a   great 
Measure  forgot  the  errand  of  our  Fathers."1 

There  were  a  number  of  reasons  for  this  appar- 
ent failure  of  the  early  churches  of  New  England 
to  realize  the  hopes  of  their  founders. 

Reasons  for  the 

Decline  of  These    reasons  were   not  such   as  to 

cast  any  discredit  upon  the  sincerity 
or  the  piety  of  the  founders^])  Some  of  the  rea- 
sons were  connected  with  the  weakness  and  iso- 
lation of  the  settlements.  The  second  generation 
had  not  enjoyed  the  pleasant  social  life  of  Old 
England.  They  were  ruder  in  manners  than 
their  fathers,  with  less  of  education  and  of  cul- 
ture. The  struggle  of  life  in  the  wilderness  was 
a  severe  one,  and  there  was  a  tendency  to  give  a 
subordinate  place  to  the  things  that  are  re- 
ligious. The  first  settlers  had  come  here  fresh 
from  the  struggle  for  freedom  to  worship  accord- 
ing to  their  own  consciences.  Their  children  had 
no  such  experience  of  conflict. 

There  was  also  an  element  in  the  population 
lade  up  of  the  children  of  those  who  had  come 
to  New  England  in  the  condition  of  servants  to 
the  original  planters.  These  persons  were  never 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  ideas  of  the  Puritans, 
and  their  descendants  were  only  too  likely  to 
fall  away  from  the  religious  habits  of  the  earlier 

1  See  the  Election  Sermons  preached  in  these  three  Colonies 
between  1668  and  1714. 


UNION  OF  CHURCH  AND  STATE. 


generations.  "  They  were,"  says  Dr.  Walker,  "  rela- 
tively a  numerous  and  positively  a  debasing  factor 
in  the  life  of  the  Colonial  towns  and  villages." 

Besides  these  natural  causes  of  the  decline  of 
religion  in  the  Colonies  there  were  other  causes 
connected  with  the  methods  that  were  adopted 
by  the  leaders  among  the  New  England  Puri- 
tans. It  is  common  to  say  that  "  they  builded 
better  than  they  knew."  The  statement  may  be 
correct  as  to  the  main  part  of  the  policy  of  the 
founders.  And  yet  they  had  established  an  eccle- 
siastical system  in  their  plantations  that  was 
comparatively  untried  in  modern  times.  It  was 
inevitable  that  some  mistakes  should  be  made, 
even  by  men  as  wise  and  devout  as  the  founders 
of  these  Colonies. 

The  close  union  of  Church  and  State  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  some  of  the  other  Colonies  was 
shown  by  the  results  to  be  one  of  these  mistakes. 
Such  a  union  was  especially  unfavorable  to  the 
development  of  Congregational  Churches.  While 
it  lasted  it  limited  very  much  the  development  of 
the  religious  life  among  the  people.  It  was  not 
in  harmony  with  the  free  spirit  of  the  churches 
that  were  here  established.  Experience  has 
shown  that  it  is  better  for  Congregationalists  not 
to  be  "  The  Standing  Order." 

1  Some  Aspects  of  the  Religious  Life  of  New  England,  p.  49. 
Dr.  George  L.  Walker. 


27°     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

The  Half  Way  Covenant  was  another  of  the 
mistakes  of  the  early  Congregationalists.  It  was, 
at  best,  a  compromise  between  the  methods  of 
the  Established  Church  of  England,  and  those  of 
the  free  churches  of  New  England.  In  the 
course  of  time  it  did  away  with  the  Puritan  prin- 
ciple of  a  church  made  up  of  regenerated  per- 
sons. The  Episcopal  Church,  with  its  methods 
of  government,  and  its  Prayer  Book,  is  much  bet- 
ter fitted  than  the  Congregational  churches  to 
train  a  class  of  communicants  who  have  come 
into  the  church  by  reason  of  their  baptism  in 
infancy. 

In  addition  to  these  causes  of  declension,  we 
should  recognize  the  methods  of  presenting  re- 
ligious truth  in  the  pulpit.  The 

Preaching  in  the        d 

seventeenth  early  ministers  of  New  England  were 
extreme  Calvinists.  They  had  not 
learned  in  the  seventeenth  century  how  to  preach 
the  sovereignty  of  God  in  such  a  way  as  to 
develop  a  sense  of  personal  freedom  and  responsi- 
bility. We  have  but  to  read  the  treatises  that 
were  given  to  the  press  during  the  first  century 
of  the  history  of  New  England  by  the  Puritan 
divines  to  learn  that  they  were  not  "  wise  to  win 
souls  "  by  presenting  the  "  sweet  reasonableness" 
of  the  Gospel.  The  sermons  of  those  preachers 
made  the  impression  upon  some  minds  that  all 
things  were  so  arranged  in  the  Divine  economy 


EXTREME   CALVINISM. 


that  impenitent  men  had  very  little  to  do  towards 
securing  their  salvation. 

For  example,  Thomas  Shepard  said  :  "  Thou 
mayest  see  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  take  much 
pains  to  goe  into  Canaan,  and  mayest  tast  of 
the  bunches  of  Grapes  of  that  good  land,  but 
never  enter  into  Canaan,  into  Heaven,  but  thou 
liest  bound  hand  and  foot  in  this  woful  estate, 
and  here  thou  must  lie  and  rot  like  a  dead  car- 
kasse  in  his  grave  untill  the  Lord  come  and  rowle 
away  the  stone,  and  bid  thee  come  out  and  live."1 
In  another  place  he  says  :  —  "  Now  doe  not  thou 
shift  it  from  thy  selfe,  and  say,  God  is  Merciful. 
True,  but  it  is  to  very  few,  as  shall  be  proved. 
'T  is  a  thousand  to  one  if  ever  thou  bee  one  of 
that  small  number  whom  God  hath  picked  out 
to  escape  this  wrath  to  come."2 

President  Willard  said  :  "  Election  is  an  act 
of  grace.  Redemption  is  an  act  of  pure  grace. 
Election  is  absolute,  not  hypothetical.  The  sub- 
jects of  election  are  a  definite  number  of  men. 
.  .  .  There  are  some  men  to  whom  God  doth 
not  afford  the  means  and  offices  of  Salvation, 
and  they  must  needs  perish."  3 

These  quotations  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the 
sort  of  instruction  that  used  to  be  given  in 

1  Sincere  Convert,  1646,  p.  71. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  98. 

8  Willard's  Body  of  Divinity,  196,  197. 


28O    JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

many  of  the  congregations  during  the  Puritan 
age  in  New  England.  There  was  a  variety  in 
the  methods  of  preaching  at  that  time.  Thomas 
Hooker  gave  more  emphasis  to  the  truth  of  per- 
sonal freedom  and  responsibility  than  John  Nor- 
ton did.  Some  of  those  preachers  found  the 
substance  of  their  messages  in  the  parables  of  the 
Prodigal  Son,  and  of  the  Great  Supper,  and  in 
the  free  and  gracious  invitations  of  the  Saviour. 
But  the  prevailing  tone  in  the  pulpit  was  fatal- 
istic. It  discouraged  human  effort.  Great  mul- 
titudes were  waiting  for  God  to  come  and  save 
them.  They  persuaded  themselves  that  they 
were  not  responsible  for  their  continued  impeni- 
tence. They  were  using  the  means  of  grace,  and 
they  were  taught  that  they  could  do  no  more 
until  God  should  be  pleased  to  pluck  them  as 
brands  from  the  burning. 

After  the  time  of  the  Reforming  Synod  the 
decline  of  religion  was  checked  for  a  few  years, 

Efforts  to  check  an<^  earnes^  efforts  were  made  in 
the  Religious  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  to 

Declension.  1-1  11- 

bring  about  a  general  awakening 
among  the  people.  These  efforts  were  not  in 
vain.  There  were  some  revivals  of  religion  in 
the  churches.  We  have  an  account  of  a  remark- 
able religious  work  in  Taunton  in  1704,  and  of 
a  number  of  revivals  in  Northampton  during  the 
long  ministry  of  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard.  The 


RELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 


28l 


list  might  easily  be  extended.  But  on  the  whole 
the  ministers  and  churches  of  New  England  at 
that  time  were  very  far  from  the  ways  of  the 
fathers.  The  Half  Way  Covenant  had  brought 
into  the  churches  large  numbers  of  people  who 
were  not,  even  in  their  own  judgment,  true 
Christians.  The  need  of  regeneration  was  not 
made  prominent  in  the  preaching  of  that  time. 
The  ministers  were  preaching  morality,  and  the 
people  were  becoming  more  immoral  every  year. 
Many  were  trusting  to  their  good  works  to  save 
them,  but  they  were  not  careful  to  do  such  works 
as  God  had  required.  "  And  yet,"  said  one  of 
the  old  writers,  "  never  had  the  expectation  of 
reaching  heaven  at  last  been  more  general  or 
more  confident." 

The  Protestant  churches  in  Great  Britain  at 
that  time  were  no  better  than  those  in  America. 
There  had  been  a  decided  reaction  from  the  in- 
tense religious  spirit  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Bishop  Butler  remarks,  in  the  Preface  to  the 
Analogy  (1736),  that  "it  has  come  to  be  taken 
for  granted  that  Christianity  is  not  so  much  as 
a  subject  of  inquiry;  but  that  it  is  now  discov- 
ered to  be  fictitious."  The  same  writer  stated 
that  the  characteristic  of  that  age  was  "  an 
avowed  scorn  of  religion  in  some,  and  a  growing 
disregard  of  it  in  the  generality."  Addison  de- 
clared that  there  "  was  less  appearance  of  religion 


282     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE  GREAT  AWAKENING. 

in  England  than  in  any  neighboring  state  or 
kingdom."  "  In  the  higher  circles  of  society," 
said  Montesquieu,  "  every  one  laughs  if  one  talks 
of  religion."  Bishop  Burnet,  in  1713,  wrote  of 
those  who  presented  themselves  to  be  ordained 
as  clergymen,  "  They  can  give  no  account,  or  at 
least  a  very  imperfect  one,  of  the  contents  of  the 
Gospels,  or  of  the  Catechism  itself."  The  truth 
is  that  Puritanism  in  England  had  lost  a  great 
part  of  its  vigor  and  its  influence,  and  the  Estab- 
lished Church  had  not  prepared  itself  to  take  its 
place  in  leading  the  English  people  to  a  higher 
religious  life.1 

It  was  time  for  a  Great  Awakening.  He  to 
whom  the  church  is  dearer  than  the  apple  of 
His  eye  was  preparing  a  group  of  men  with  re- 
markable gifts  to  serve  as  His  agents  in  a  work 
that  was  to  give  a  new  direction  to  modern 
thought,  as  well  as  to  modern  Christianity.  Some 
of  these  great  evangelists  were  trained  in  Great 
Britain,  as  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys.  Others 
had  been  trained  in  this  country,  such  as  Ed- 
wards, the  Tenants,  Parsons,  and  Wheelock. 
The  Church  of  England  needed  the  Awaken- 
ing quite  as  much  as  the  Dissenters,  or  the 
Puritan  Churches  of  New  England. 

1  See  Prof.  Fisher's  History  of  Doctrine,  389-391.  Greene's 
Short  History  of  the  English  People,  736.  Bibliotheca  Sacra, 
1897,  pp.  69-80. 


BIRTH  OF  EDWARDS.  283 

II 

JONATHAN  EDWARDS  was  the  son  of  Timothy 
Edwards,  the  pastor  for  sixty  years  at  East  Wind- 
sor, Connecticut.  His  mother  was  Eariyiifeof 
the  daughter  of  Solomon  Stoddard,  Edwards* 
whose  pastorate  at  Northampton  lasted  from 
1672  to  1729.  He  was  born  October  5,  1703. 
He  was  a  precocious  boy.  He  has  been  com- 
pared to  Pascal  in  respect  to  the  early  manifes- 
tation of  intellectual  power.  His  early  writings, 
and  the  books  that  he  read  even  before  he  en- 
tered college,  show  a  decided  bent  towards 
the  study  of  nature  and  of  mind.  He  entered 
Yale  College  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  was 
graduated  at  seventeen.  Afterwards  he  spent 
two  years  in  the  study  of  theology  in  connec- 
tion with  the  College.  He  was  licensed  to  preach 
at  the  age  of  nineteen.  His  first  preaching  was 
in  New  York,  where  he  was  very  much  liked. 
After  eight  months  in  New  York  he  declined  to 
remain  longer,  and  went  back  to  the  College, 
where  he  served  for  two  years  as  tutor,  continu- 
ing his  studies  in  divinity  and  in  psychology. 
He  was  ordained  at  Northampton,  February 
15,  1727,  in  his  twenty-third  year,  as  colleague 
pastor  with  his  grandfather,  then  in  his  eighty- 
fourth  year. 

Eight  years  later,  the  Great  Awakening  began 


284     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

in  that  parish,  in  connection  with  the  preaching 
of  that  remarkable  man.  He  is  spoken  of  most 
frequently  as  a  hard  logician,  a  metaphysician,  a 
Calvinistic  theologian.  If  that  had  been  all,  the 
revival  would  not  have  begun  in  his  parish. 
He  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of  the  highest  order 
of  intellect.  He  was  a  brilliant  scholar.  He 
was  a  man  of  deep  piety.  He  was  accustomed, 
while  yet  a  child,  to  go  by  himself  to  secret  places 
in  the  woods  for  the  purpose  of  prayer.  He 
passed  through  very  deep  religious  experiences 
during  his  college  life.  A  little  later  he  wrote, 
"  I  made  seeking  my  salvation  the  main  business 
of  my  life."  The  Diary  which  he  kept  in  his 
early  years  shows  how  deep  his  religious  expe- 
riences were,  and  how  entire  his  consecration. 
He  recorded  his  solemn  engagement  always  "  to 
do  whatever  he  thought  to  be  most  for  the  glory 
of  God  and  his  own  good,  without  consideration 
of  the  time,  whether  now  or  never  so  many  my- 
riads of  ages  hence ;  no  matter  how  great  or 
how  many  the  difficulties  he  might  meet ;  to  do 
his  duty,  and  what  is  most  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind in  general."  He  resolved  never  to  lose  a 
moment  of  time,  to  live  while  he  lived  with  all 
his  might.  An  instructive  parallel  might  be 
drawn  between  the  early  religious  exercises  of 
John  and  Charles  Wesley  and  those  of  Jona- 
than Edwards.  The  revival  on  both  sides  of  the 


IMA  GIN  A  TION  OF  ED  WA  RDS.  285 

sea  had  its  spring  in  the  deep  searchings  of  heart, 
and  in  the  complete  consecration  of  these  men. 

Jonathan  Edwards  was  a  man  of  tender  feel- 
ings, and  of  very  strong  affections.     He  had  the 
imagination  of  a  poet.     "He  had   a  QUalltiesof 
rare    combination,"    says     a     recent  ^M""1- 
writer,  "of  fervor  of  feeling,  of  almost  oriental 
richness  of  imagination,  with  intellectual  acumen 
which  clothed  all  that  he  said  with  glowing  force, 
while  beneath  his   words  flowed  the  stream  of 
a  most  carefully  elaborated  theological  system." 

Let  us  select  two  or  three  specimens  from  the 
writings  of  this  representative  Puritan  pastor. 
On  a  certain  day,  in  his  early  youth,  he  walked  in 
his  father's  pasture.  He  says  :  "As  I  was  walking 
there,  and  looking  up  in  the  sky  and  clouds,  there 
came  into  my  mind  so  sweet  a  sense  of  the  glori- 
ous majesty  and  grace  of  God,  as  I  knew  not  how 
to  express.  I  seemed  to  see  them  both  in  a 
sweet  conjunction,  majesty  and  meekness  joined 
together;  it  was  a  sweet  and  gentle  and  holy 
majesty,  and  also  a  majestic  sweetness,  an  awful 
sweetness,  a  high  and  great  and  holy  gentleness." 

"I  spent  the  most  of  my  time,"  he  says,  "in 
thinking  of  divine  things,  year  after  year;  often 
walking  alone  in  the  woods  and  solitary  places 
for  meditation,  soliloquy,  and  prayer,  and  con- 
verse with  God ;  and  it  was  always  my  manner 
at  such  times  to  sing  forth  my  contemplations." 


286     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,   AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

In  one  of  his  private  papers,  written  in  middle 
life,  he  says,  "  The  soul  of  a  true  Christian  ap- 
peared like  such  a  little  white  flower  as  we  see 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  low  and  humble  on  the 
ground,  opening  its  bosom  to  receive  the  pleas- 
ant beams  of  the  sun's  glory,  rejoicing  as  it  were 
in  a  calm  rapture,  diffusing  around  a  sweet  fra- 
grancy,  standing  peacefully  and  lovingly  in  the 
midst  of  other  flowers  round  about;  all  in  like 
manner  opening  their  bosoms  to  drink  in  the 
light  of  the  sun."1 

Here  is  a  passage  from  his  Journal,  in  which 
he  describes  Sarah  Pierrepont,  who  became  his 
wife  a  few  years  later:  "They  say  there  is  a 
young  lady  in  ...  who  is  beloved  of  that  Great 
Being  who  made  and  rules  the  world,  and  that 
there  are  certain  seasons  in  which  this  Great 
Being,  in  some  way  or  other,  invisibly  comes  to 
her,  and  fills  her  mind  with  exceeding  great  de- 
light, and  that  she  hardly  cares  for  any  thing 
except  to  meditate  on  Him;  that  she  expects 
after  awhile  to  be  received  up  where  He  is ;  to 
be  raised  up  out  of  the  world,  and  caught  up  into 
Heaven,  being  assured  that  there  she  is  to  dwell 
with  Him,  and  to  be  ravished  with  His  love  and 
delight  forever.  She  will  sometimes  go  about 
from  place  to  place  singing  sweetly,  and  seems 

1  Life  of  Edwards.  New  York  reprint  of  the  Worcester  Edi- 
tion, i.  18. 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE. 


to  be  always  full  of  joy  and  pleasure,  and  no  one 
knows  for  what.  She  loves  to  be  alone,  walking 
in  the  fields  and  groves,  and  seems  to  have  some 
one  invisible  always  conversing  with  her." 

He  describes  an  experience  which  he  had 
while  in  middle  life,  in  which  he  had  "  a  view  of 
the  glory  of  the  Son  of  God,  as  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  and  His  wonderful,  great,  full,  pure, 
and  sweet  grace  and  love,  and  meek  and  gentle 
condescension.  The  person  of  Christ  appeared 
ineffably  excellent,  with  an  excellency  great 
enough  to  swallow  up  all  thought  and  concep- 
tion, —  which  continued,  as  near  as  I  can  judge, 
about  an  hour,  which  kept  me  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  in  tears,  and  weeping  aloud.  I  felt 
an  ardency  of  soul  to  be,  —  what  I  know  not 
otherwise  how  to  express,  —  emptied  and  anni- 
hilated ;  to  lie  in  the  dust,  and  to  be  full  of  Christ 
alone;  to  love  Him  with  a  pure  and  holy  love; 
to  trust  in  Him  ;  to  live  upon  Him;  to  serve  and 
follow  Him  ;  and  to  be  perfectly  sanctified  and 
made  pure  with  a  divine  and  heavenly  purity." 

In  his  personal    appearance    Mr.   Edwards  is 
said  to  have  been  a  tall,  slender  man,  upwards  of 
six  feet  in  height.     His  face  was  of  msPersonai 
the   feminine    type,   like  that  of  the  Awearancc' 
Apostle  John,  rather  than  that  of  the  Apostles 
Peter  or    Paul.      There  was  about  him  the  air 
of  a  seer,  of  one  inspired.     His  appearance  in 


288 


JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 


the  pulpit  was  graceful,  his  delivery  natural,  easy, 
and  very  solemn.  His  voice  was  not  loud  or 
strong,  but  he  spoke  with  such  distinctness,  clear- 
ness, and  precision,  his  sentences  were  so  full 
of  ideas,  set  in  a  plain  and  striking  light,  that  he 
commanded  the  attention  of  the  audience.  His 
sermons  were  written,  but  he  was  not  closely  con- 
fined to  his  notes.  He  was  accustomed  to  lean 
on  one  arm,  fastening  his  eyes  upon  some  dis- 
tant part  of  the  meeting-house.1  He  used  very 
little  action  in  the  pulpit,  but  he  spoke  with 
such  fervor  and  earnestness  that  his  words  had 
great  power.  He  was  one  of  the  great  preachers 
of  the  age, —  Prof.  A.  V.  G.  Allen  speaks  of  him 
as  the  greatest  of  them. 


Ill 

IT  was  the  mission  of  this  man  of  great  intel- 
lectual power  and  profound  spiritual  insight  to 
apply  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  to  a  people  in  a 
very  low  religious  condition.  He  had  to  meet 
what  was  then  called  Arminianism ;  a  system 
that  differed  radically  from  the  evangelical  Ar- 
minianism which  Wesley  preached,  and  which 
has  been  a  leading  factor  in  the  revivals  of  re- 
ligion of  the  last  century  and  a  half.  This  so 

1  Edwards's  Works,  Life,  i.  29.  Life  of  Jonathan  Edwards, 
by  Prof.  A.  V.  G.  Allen. 


CONDITION  OF  THE   CHURCHES.  289 

called  Arminianism  was  combined  with  Arian 
and  Socinian  opinions.  It  had  grown  up  in  New 
England,  as  a  reaction  from  the  extreme  Calvin- 
ism of  the  early  New  England  fathers.  Its 
progress  had  been  helped  by  the  working  of  the 
Half  Way  Covenant  Inasmuch  as  the  change 
at  conversion  was  supposed  to  be  altogether  be- 
yond human  power,  men  inquired  whether  there 
were  not  some  religious  acts  which  they  could 
perform  which  would  lead  on  towards  conversion. 
The  Arminians  of  that  day  taught  that  the  use 
of  "the  means  of  grace,"  such  as  the  state  of  the 
reading  of  the  Scriptures,  prayer,  at-  churches- 
tendance  on  public  worship,  and  especially  the 
use  of  the  sacraments,  would  prepare  them  for  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven.  Men  were  not  taught  that 
it  was  their  duty  to  repent  of  their  sins,  and  be- 
gin at  once  to  serve  and  obey  God,  trusting  to 
His  promised  help  and  grace,  but  only  that  it  was 
their  duty  to  use  the  means  of  grace.  This 
relieved  them  from  a  sense  of  responsibility  for 
their  continued  impenitence.  They  persuaded 
themselves  that  they  were  doing  their  part  of 
the  work,  and  that  there  was  nothing  more  for 
them  to  do  until  they  should  receive  the  Divine 
Spirit,  who  had  power  to  change  their  evil  nature, 
and  give  them  the  new  heart  and  the  new  spirit. 
The  preaching  of  the  time  was  mainly  didactic. 
It  was  addressed  to  the  understanding,  rather 


JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

than  to  the  heart.  Its  tone  was  ethical,  rather 
than  spiritual.  It  dwelt  mainly  on  the  duties  of 
men  to  each  other  and  to  God.  Multitudes  were 
lingering  among  the  so  called  preliminaries  to 
regeneration,  waiting  for  the  Divine  work  in  their 
hearts.  So  that  in  many  of  the  Puritan  churches 
the  people  were  trusting  in  forms  and  outward 
observances,  while  spiritual  religion  was  losing 
its  power. 

The  long  and  very  able  ministry  of  Mr.  Stod- 
dard  at  Northampton  had  moulded  the  opinions 
and  habits  of  the  people  of  that  town.  He  had 
taught  them  that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  a  con- 
verting ordinance.  The  Half  Way  Covenant  had 
brought  into  that  church  a  large  number  who 
were  not,  even  in  their  own  opinion,  regenerated 
persons.  Mr.  Edwards  tells  us,  in  his  Narrative, 
that  the  town  had  at  that  time  about  two  hundred 
families.  He  believed  that  the  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  people  was  at  least  as  good  as  that  of 
the  people  in  other  parts  of  New  England.  But, 
he  tells  us,  it  was  a  time  of  extraordinary  dulness 
in  religion ;  that  for  some  years  licentiousness 
had  prevailed  among  the  young  people  of  the 
town ;  that  many  of  them  were  very  much  ad- 
dicted to  night  walking,  and  frequenting  the 
tavern,  and  to  lewd  practices;  that  they  would 
frequently  get  together  for  what  they  called 
frolics,  and  would  spend  the  greater  part  of  the 


JUS TIFICA  TION  BY  FAITH.  2 Q I 

night  in  them,  without  any  regard  to  order  in 
the  families  they  belonged  to ;  and  that  indeed 
family  government  did  much  fail  in  the  town. 
He  found  also  that  many  of  the  young  people 
were  indecent  in  their  conduct  in  meeting.1 

Two  or  three  years  after  the  beginning  of  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Edwards,  there  began  to  be  a 
marked  improvement  in  the  habits  of  the  young 
people  of  his  congregation.  They  became  more 
decorous  in  their  behavior  during  the  religious 
services,  and  more  disposed  to  keep  the  Lord's 
day,  and  to  listen  to  religious  instruction.  Late 
in  the  year  1734,  the  young  pastor  determined 
to  meet  the  errors  which  prevailed  among  his 
people  by  a  series  of  sermons  on  Justification  by 
Faith  alone,  the  doctrine  with  which,  The  Great 
as  Luther  declared,  a  church  stands  Awakenil*. 
or  falls.  He  tells  us  that,  "  although  great  fault 
was  found  with  meddling  with  the  controversy 
in  the  pulpit  at  that  time,  by  such  a  person  "  (as 
the  young  and  inexperienced  pastor),  "  and  though 
it  was  ridiculed  by  many,  yet  it  proved  a  word 
spoken  in  season,  and  was  most  evidently  at- 
tended with  a  very  remarkable  blessing  of  Heaven 
to  the  souls  of  the  people." 

In  these  sermons  he  attempted  to  sweep  away 
the  hopes  which  men  had  built  upon  their  moral- 

1  Edwards's  Works,  i.  29.  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conver- 
sions, Works,  iii.  233.  The  Great  Awakening,  by  Dr.  Joseph 
Tracy,  213.  Allen's  Life  of  Edwards,  40  and  126. 


JONATHAN   EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

ity,  their  "  owning  the  covenant,"  partaking  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  using  the  other  means  of 
grace.  He  taught  that  the  first  thing,  and  the 
only  thing  for  them  to  do,  was  to  come  to  Christ, 
with  penitence  for  their  sins,  relying  only  upon 
the  free  promises  of  the  Gospel.  "  This  way  of 
the  Gospel  was  made  evident,"  to  use  the  -words 
of  Edwards,  "  as  the  true  and  only  way.  Then  it 
was,  in  the  latter  part  of  December  (1734)  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  began  to  work  wonderfully 
amongst  us,  and  there  were,  very  suddenly,  five 
or  six  persons,  to  all  appearances,  savingly  con- 
verted, and  some  were  wrought  upon  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner."1 

The  revival  was  connected  very  closely  with 
the  preaching  of  Mr.  Edwards.  He  set  forth 
with  great  power  the  Calvinistic  system  of  doc- 
trine, but  in  the  stress  and  pressure  of  the  reli- 
gious work  he  was  led  into  those  modifications 
of  the  older  Calvinism,  out  of  which  the  New 
England  theology  has  grown.  His  system  was 
a  modified  Calvinism.  The  urgent  motive  with 
the  great  evangelist  was  to  present  the  truth  in 
such  a  way  as  to  deepen  the  sense  of  personal  re- 
sponsibility. He  made  much  of  the  difference 
between  natural  and  moral  ability.  He  taught 
that  the  sinner  has  a  natural  ability  to  repent, 
and  is  therefore  under  obligation  to  repent.  His 

i  Works,  iii.  234. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE  REVIVAL. 


inability  is  moral,  and  consists  in  an  unwilling- 
ness to  do  his  duty.  For  this  unwillingness  he  is 
responsible.  To  continue  in  the  use  of  means, 
without  repentance,  is  only  to  add  to  the  sins  of 
the  past.  The  promises  of  God  are  addressed 
only  to  those  who  repent.  He  insisted,  there- 
fore, upon  immediate  repentance.  Means  were 
nothing  without  repentance  ;  strivings  and  reso- 
lutions were  nothing.  He  exhorted  his  people 
to  cast  themselves  just  as  they  were  upon  the 
mercy  of  God,  and  trust  Him  to  save  them  in 
His  infinite  love  and  grace. 

The  revival  spread  rapidly  into  all  parts  of  the 
town,  and  reached  persons  of  all  ages  and  condi- 
tions in  life.  Religion  became  the  great  subject 
of  thought  and  conversation.  "  There  was  scarcely 
a  person  in  the  town,"  says  Mr.  Edwards,  "  uncon- 
cerned about  the  great  things  of  the  eternal 
world.  In  the  spring  and  summer  following,  the 
town  seemed  to  be  full  of  the  presence  of  God. 
Our  assemblies  were  then  beautiful.  Our  public 
praises  were  greatly  enlivened.  Our  young  peo- 
ple when  they  met  were  wont  to  spend  the  time 
in  talking  of  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  wonder- 
ful, free,  and  sovereign  grace  of  God,  —  His  glo- 
rious work  in  the  conversion  of  souls,  —  and  the 
truth  and  certainty  of  the  great  things  of  God's 
word."1  Mr.  Edwards  believed  that  more  than 

1  Narrative,  235. 


294     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

three  hundred  were  brought  to  Christ,  in  that 
town,  within  six  months,  and  that  almost  every- 
body in  the  town  at  that  time,  above  sixteen 
years  of  age,  was  a  true  Christian.  He  mentions 
that  some  thirty  children,  of  from  ten  to  fourteen 
years,  were  among  the  subjects  of  this  work.  He 
gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  conversion  of 
a  child  about  four  years  of  age.1  It  appears  from 
his  statements  that  religious  meetings  for  children 
were  very  common  during  the  revival. 

The  work  extended  from  Northampton  into 
the  adjoining  towns.  In  March,  the  revival  was 
general  in  South  Hadley  and  in  Suffield.  It 
soon  appeared  in  Sutherland,  Deerfield,  Hatfield, 
West  Springfield,  Longmeadow,  and  Northfield. 
There  were  revivals  of  great  power  in  ten  or 
twelve  of  the  leading  towns  of  Connecticut.  It 
continued  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  for  about 
six  months.  It  reached  towns  as  far  apart  as 
Stratford,  New  Haven,  Groton,  Lebanon,  and 
Coventry.  The  next  year,  Mr.  Edwards  wrote 
his  "  Narrative  of  Surprising  Conversions,"  which 
was  published  first  in  Great  Britain,  and,  two 
years  later,  was  republished  in  Boston,  with  sev- 
eral of  the  sermons  that  had  been  most  useful  in 
promoting  the  work. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  follow  at  great  length 
the  history  of  the  Great  Awakening  in  the  ten 

1  Works,  iii.  265,  also  348. 


LABORS  OF  MR.   EDWARDS.  2Q5 

years  that  followed  1735.  Mr.  Edwards  had  a 
very  important  part  in  the  work  through  all 
those  years.  He  was,  in  a  sense,  the  moving 
spirit  of  the  revival.  By  his  preaching,  and  his 
personal  labors,  and  his  counsels  to  the  pastors 
who  were  constantly  consulting  him,  and  by  his 
publications,  he  helped  on  the  work,  and  gave  it 
steadiness  and  permanent  influence.  In  1740 
and  1741,  there  was  a  work  of  grace  in  North- 
ampton even  more  extended  than  the  one  seven 
years  before.  There  was  another  revival  two 
years  later,  and  a  third  two  years  afterward.1 
During  these  years,  the  religious  work  extended 
into  all  parts  of  New  England,  and  into  the 
middle  and  southern  Colonies.  The  period  of 
religious  inertia  had  been  effectually  broken  up. 
A  rift  had  been  made  in  the  old  fatalism,  which 
had  paralyzed  so  many  of  the  churches.  The 
revivals  gave  them  a  new  sense  of  the  spiritual 
power  that  was  within  their  reach.  A  consider- 
able number  of  pastors  began  to  labor  as  evan- 
gelists in  parishes  near  their  own.  There  was 
an  interchange  of  such  labors  at  that  time  that 
was  very  profitable.  There  was  also  a  class  of 
itinerant  evangelists  who  were  employed  in  many 
of  the  churches. 

We   have  accounts  of   the  preaching  of  Mr. 
Edwards  in  Westborough,  Leicester,  Sutton,  En- 

i  Christian  History,  i.  367. 


296     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

field,  Boston,  and  various  other  places.1     In  some 

7 stances  he  spent  several  weeks  in  a  place. 
Of  the  effect  of  his  famous  sermon  at  Enfield, 
we  have  an  account  written  by  an  intelligent 
minister  who  was  present.  He  says  :  "  While  the 
people  of  the  neighboring  towns  were  in  great 
distress  for  their  souls,  the  inhabitants  of  Enfield 
were  very  secure,  loose,  and  vain.  A  lecture  had 
been  appointed  there,  and  the  neighboring  peo- 
ple, the  night  before,  were  so  affected  at  the 
thoughtlessness  of  the  inhabitants  that  they  spent 
a  considerable  part  of  the  night  praying  for  them. 
When  the  time  for  the  lecture  came,  a  number 
of  the  neighboring  ministers  attended,  and  some 
from  a  distance.  The  appearance  of  the  assem- 
bly in  the  meeting-house  was  thoughtless  and 
vain.  The  people  hardly  conducted  themselves 
with  common  decency.  Mr.  Edwards  preached 
from  a  passage  in  Deut.  xxxii.  35,  '  Their  foot 
shall  slide  in  due  time.'  As  he  advanced  in 
unfolding  the  meaning  of  the  text,  the  most  rigid 
logic  brought  him  and  his  hearers  to  conclusions 
which  the  most  tremendous  imagery  could  but 
inadequately  express."  The  effect  was  such  as 
might  have  been  expected.  "  Before  the  sermon 
was  ended  the  assembly  appeared  deeply  im- 
pressed, and  bowed  down  with  an  awful  convic- 

1  Journal  of  Rev.  E.  Parkmore  of  Westborough,  in  the  library 
of  the  Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester. 


THE  SERMON  AT  EN  FIELD.  2Q7 

tion  of  their  sin  and  danger.  There  was  such 
a  breathing  of  distress  and  weeping  that  the 
preacher  was  obliged  to  speak  to  the  people  and 
desire  silence  that  he  might  be  heard.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  the  same  great  and  prevailing 
concern  in  that  place,  with  which  the  Colony  in 
general  was  visited." l 

This  sermon  is  often  quoted  as  though  it  were 
a  fair  specimen  of  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Edwards. 
One  has  only  to  read  the  titles  of  his  published 
sermons  to  learn  how  great  a  variety  of  topics 
he  presented  in  the  pulpit.  "  The  Excellency  of 
Christ,"  "  Ruth's  Resolution,"  "  The  Peace  which 
Christ  gives  His  true  Followers,"  "  A  Divine  and 
Supernatural  Light  imparted  to  the  Soul,"  "  A 
God  who  heareth  Prayer,"  "  God  the  best  Por- 
tion of  the  Christian,"  —  these  suggest  a  style 
of  thought  and  discourse  much  more  in  accord- 
ance with  the  other  works  of  the  great  preacher. 
He  believed  and  taught  that  love  is  the  chief  of 
the  Christian  graces,  and  that  from  love  of  God 
all  other  graces  flow.  He  felt  that  the  state  of 
opinion  and  practice  at  that  time  made  it  neces- 
sary to  preach  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
knew  how  to  uncover  the  hypocrisy  and  unbelief 
of  men  in  a  convincing  way ;  but  the  dominant 
tone  of  his  preaching  was  argumentative  and  per- 

1  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelock  of  Lebanon,  quoted  in  Trumbull's  His- 
tory of  Connecticut,  ii.  145. 


298     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,   AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

suasive.  If  he  was  ever  a  son  of  thunder,  it  was 
in  the  same  sense  with  the  Apostles  James  and 
John. 

IV 

ABOUT  the  time  when  the  Great  Awakening 

was   in    progress    in    New    England,    the    Great 

Methodist    Revival     in    the    Mother 

Tie  Great 

Awakening  Country  was  beginning,  in  connection 
with  the  ministry  of  John  and  Charles 
Wesley  and  George  Whitefield.  These  three  re- 
markable men  had  been  together  at  Oxford  Uni- 
versity, and  they  had  been  prepared  for  their 
mission  as  leaders  in  the  religious  work  of  their 
time  by  profound  religious  experiences.  They 
were  all  members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  in  the  beginning  do  not  seem  to  have  dis- 
agreed in  theological  opinion.  Later,  the  Wes- 
leys  adopted  the  Arminian  system  of  doctrine, 
while  Whitefield  announced  himself  a  Calvinist. 
Their  work  was  essentially  the  same  work,  though 
carried  on  by  different  methods,  and  as  the  result 
of  it  the  old  indifference  was  broken  up,  and  the 
churches  in  the  various  English  speaking  countries 
on  both  sides  of  the  sea  received  a  powerful  re- 
ligious impulse  which  has  continued  to  this  day.1 
The  visit  of  Whitefield  to  New  England  was 
in  1740.  His  work  in  the  South,  and  in  the 

1  Centenary  of  American  Methodism,  Stevens,  11-78. 


PREACHING   OF   WHITEFIELD. 


middle  Colonies,  and  in  England 
was  already  so  well  known  that  he 
was  very  cordially  welcomed  by  the  ministers 
and  churches  here.  He  was  then  twenty-six 
years  of  age,  with  a  fine  physical  form,  and  a 
gift  of  extemporaneous  speech  such  as  few  have 
ever  possessed,  and  with  a  voice  of  marvellous 
power  and  flexibility.  A  Connecticut  farmer  who 
heard  him  preach  in  Hartford  said  of  him  :  "  He 
looked  almost  angelical,  a  young,  slim,  slender 
youth  before  some  thousands  of  people,  and  with 
a  bold  undaunted  countenance.  It  solemnized 
my  mind  and  put  me  in  a  trembling  fear  before 
he  began  to  preach,  for  he  looked  as  if  he  was 
clothed  with  authority  from  God."  His  style 
was  natural  and  clear,  animated  and  pathetic,  and 
sometimes  truly  sublime.  He  had  a  voice  of 
wonderful  flexibility,  compass,  and  power;  and 
his  action  was  graceful,  impressive,  and  appro- 
priate. As  an  orator,  the  world  perhaps  never 
saw  his  superior. 

He  preached  first  in  Newport,  then  in  Bristol, 
and  then  in  Boston.  No  church  in  the  town  was 
large  enough  to  contain  the  Crowds  that  came  to 
hear  him.  It  is  said  that  he  preached  to  twenty 
thousand  people  on  Boston  Common.  From 
Boston  he  went  to  all  the  principal  towns  in 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  It  was  a  novel 

1  Dr.  Walker's  Religious  Life  in  New  England,  91. 


3OO     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND    THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

experience  to  New  Englanders  to  listen  to  such 
a  preacher,  and  wherever  he  went  multitudes 
came  to  hear  him.  He  visited  Northampton,  and 
preached  with  great  eloquence  in  Mr.  Edwards's 
pulpit  Mr.  Edwards  himself  was  deeply  affected, 
and  wept  during  almost  the  whole  service.  The 
people  were  equally  moved.1 

The  preaching  of  Mr.  Whitefield  extended  the 
religious  work  very  widely  among  people  who 
were  not  likely  to  be  reached  by  the  regular  min- 
isters. He  also  interrupted  the  harmony  of  the 
churches  by  the  methods  which  he  followed. 
He  was  still  a  young  man,  and  was  apt  to  be 
opinionated  and  censorious.  He  made  too  much 
of  certain  physical  manifestations  which  were  con- 
nected with  the  great  excitement  that  accom- 
panied his  impassioned  addresses.  Mr.  Edwards 
himself  suggested  to  him  that  he  was  giving  too 
much  importance  to  things  of  that  sort. 

But  after  all  that  may  be  said  of  his  indiscre- 
tions, Mr.  Whitefield  did  more  than  any  other 
man  excepting  Mr.  Edwards  to  extend  the  work 
of  grace  through  all  the  English  Colonies  in 
America,  and  to  give  the  churches  here  new 
power  to  mould  the  masses  of  the  people  for 
good. 

1  Tracy's  Great  Awakening. 


EXTENT  OF  THE  GREAT  AWAKENING.  3<DI 


V 

THE  most  careful  students  of  this  critical  period 
in  our  religious  history  agree  that  this  religious 
work  has  never  been  equalled  in  this 

,   *  Extent  of 

country  for  its  intensity  and  perma-  the  Great 
nent  results.     The   estimates  of  the 
number  of  people  who   were  brought   into   the 
churches,  which  were  made  by  the  older  writers, 
vary  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  fifty  thousand. 
We  have  no  reliable  statistics  of  the  number  of 
churches  and  communicants  in  New  England  at 
that  time.     So  far  as  we  are  able  to  Additions  to 
learn,  it  would  seem  that  the  number  the  churches, 
of  Congregational  churches  was  about  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty.     President  Styles  states  that  a 
hundred  and  fifty  new  churches  were  formed  in 
the  new  towns  and  parishes  in  the  twenty  years 
following  1 740.     This  does  not  include  the  large 
number  of  Baptist  churches  that  were  gathered 
in  those  years,  nor  the  number  of  the  Separatist 
churches. 

More  important  than  the  increase  in  numbers 
was  the  change  in  the  methods  of  administration 
in  the  Congregational  churches.  The  great  re- 
vival led  them  to  correct  the  practical  mistakes 
they  had  made  in  the  earlier  years.  The  promi- 
nent part  which  Mr.  Edwards  had  as  the  leader  in 


3O2     JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

the  Great  Awakening,  enabled  him  to  guide  the 
churches  into  a  better  way. 

One  of  the  most  useful  of  his  works  is  his 
"  Humble  Inquiry  into  the  Rules  of  the  Word 
of  God  concerning  the  Qualifications  for  Full 
Communion."  He  stated  the  question  at  the 
outset,  "  whether  any  persons  except  such  as  are 
in  profession  and  appearance  endued  with  Chris- 
tian grace  or  piety  ought  to  be  admitted  to  the 
Christian  sacraments."  It  is  a  clear  and  con- 
vincing argument  in  favor  of  the  Puritan  prac- 
tice of  admitting  "  only  those  who  give  evidence 
that  they  are  the  children  of  God."  His  views 
on  this  matter  probably  cost  him  his  pastorate 
at  Northampton,  but  his  arguments,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  evil  results  of  the  Half  Way 
Covenant  led  the  people  back  to  the  earlier  and 
better  practice.  After  that  time  the  methods  of 
th  e  Half-  Way-  Co  vena  nt^were_gradually_  _aban- 
doned  by  the  more  spiritual  and  evangelical 
churches. 

The  union  of  Church  and  State  was  not  at 
once  given  up.  It  required  the  separation  from 
Great  Britain,  and  the  adoption  of  a  free  repub- 
lican government  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
voluntary  system.  But  the  Great  Awakening 
gave  an  impulse  to  the  religious  life  of  the 
churches  which  prepared  them  in  the  course  of 
time  to  dispense  with  the  aid  of  the  state. 


THEOLOGICAL   CHANGES.  3°3 

Still   more  important  was  the  modification  of 
the  theological  views  and  methods  of  preaching 
among  Congregationalists.     The  cold  and  formal 
Armmianism,  with  its  Arian  and   Socinian  ele- 
ments, was  no  longer  dominant  in  the  Congre- 
gational churches.     Under  the  influence  of  the 
quickened   religious  experiences   of  the    revival, 
men  learned  how  to  preach  the  sovereignty  of 
God  in  such  a  way  as  to  deepen  the  sense  of 
freedom     and    responsibility.      The    Edwardean 
theology,  as  it  has  been  developed  by  the  younger 
Edwards,  and  Bellamy,  and    President    Dwight, 
and  Professor  Park,  and  their  associates  and  suc- 
cessors, has  changed  the  style  of  preaching  in  the 
Puritan  pulpits,  and  has  led  the  ministers  to  lay 
hold  in  a  new  way  upon  the  truths  of  the  New 
Testament.     There  have  been,  it  is  true,  periods 
of  religious  declension  since  that  time,  and  yet, 
on  the  whole,  the  century  and  a  half  since  the 
Great   Awakening    has    been    characterized  by 
revivals  of  religion,  and  by  great  movements  for 
the  conversion  of  the  world.     From  the  time  of 
the    Great   Awakening    there    have   been    "  two 
wings  in  the  Congregational  body."     On  the  one 
side  were  the  Old  Calvinists  and   the   followers 
of  Edwards  with  his  modified  Calvinism.     These 
were  the  friends  of  the  revival,  and  they  were 
confirmed  in   their  evangelical  views  by  the  re- 
sults of  that  work  of  grace.     On  the  other  side 


3O4    JONATHAN  EDWARDS,  AND   THE   GREAT  AWAKENING. 

were  the  so  called  Arminians,  who  found  them- 
selves out  of  sympathy  with  the  spirit  and 
methods  of  the  revival.  In  the  course  of  about 
two  generations,  these  two  divergent  tendencies 
led  to  the  separation  of  the  Puritan  churches 
into  two  bodies,  which  we  designate  as  Orthodox 
and  Unitarian  Congregationalists. 

The  rise  and  growth  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  this  country  has  had  much  to 
do  in  moulding  the  methods  of  preaching  in  the 
Puritan  churches.  It  has  given  to  the  pulpit  an 
added  intensity  and  directness,  and  a  wiser  adap- 
tation to  its  purpose  of  arousing  men  to  their 
religious  duties,  by  following  more  closely  the 
methods  of  the  New  Testament. 

During  this  period  the  Home  and  Foreign 
Missionary  Societies  have  come  into  existence, 
while  the  English  settlements  have  been  pushed 
out  into  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  on  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Most  of  the  new  churches 
have  been  Missionary  churches.  The  new  col- 
leges have  been  planted  by  Home  Missionaries. 
The  Puritan  churches  have  certainly  done  their 
part  in  educating  and  evangelizing  all  parts  of 
our  country. 

So  it  has  come  to  pass  that  in  these  later 
periods  the  churches  of  the  Puritan  fathers  have 
come  much  nearer  the  ideals  of  their  founders 
than  they  did  in  the  earlier  years.  They  have 


THE  EDWARDEAN  THEOLOGY.  305 

become  freer,  and  more  spiritual.  They  have 
learned  a  better  theology.  They  have  a  larger 
charity,  and  a  sweeter  spirit,  and  they  are  ful- 
filling a  more  important  mission  to  the  world ; 
and,  as  a  result  of  these  changes,  they  have  come 
into  a  closer  relation  to  the  other  branches  of 
the  Church  of  our  Lord.  They  are  prepared  to 
unite  very  heartily  with  all  the  true  followers  of 
Christ  in  united  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world. 


20 


V 

Shakespeare  and  the  Puritans 


Shakespeare  and  the  Puritans 

OUR  New  England  ancestors  were  very  in- 
telligent men  and  women.  They  brought 
their  books  with  them  when  they  planted  their 
settlements  on  this  side  of  the  sea.  One  could 
hardly  be  a  Puritan  who  was  not  able  to  read  the 
Geneva  Bible.  Their  ministers  were  graduates 
of  Cambridge  or  Oxford,  and  their  libraries  con- 
tained volumes  of  history,  and  poetry,  and  phi- 
losophy, as  well  as  of  theology.1  Myles  Standish 
left  a  library  which  contained  volumes  on  mili- 
tary tactics,  and  science,  and  history,  a  copy  of 
Homer's  Iliad,  and  an  English  Dictionary,  besides 
a  large  number  of  religious  books.  William 
Blackstone,  who  first  gained  a  title  to  land  in 
Boston,  and  who  lived  there  almost  alone  with  his 
servants,  had  a  library  of  a  hundred  and  eighty-six 
volumes,  many  of  them  in  Latin.  William  Pyn- 
chon,  the  first  settler  of  Springfield,  a  business 
man,  was  able  to  quote  Greek  and  Latin  and 
Hebrew,  and  he  wrote  in  a  clear  and  vigorous 
English  style.  Governor  Winthrop  of  Massa- 
chusetts had  a  good  library,  comprising  not  only 

1  The  Puritan  in  England  and  New  England,  124. 


3IO  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

English  books,  but  also  French  and  Latin  books, 
The  younger  Winthrop  is  said  to  have  had  a 
library  of  a  thousand  volumes.  These  are  in- 
stances which  might  be  multiplied  of  the  books 
that  were  to  be  found  in  Puritan  homes.  The 
Puritans  founded  Harvard  College  while  their 
settlements  were  in  their  infancy,  and  established 
a  public  school  in  every  township  of  fifty  families 
for  "all  such  children"  (boys  and  girls)  "as  shall 
resort  to  it." 

The  Protestant  Reformation  in  England  had 
brought  the  great  middle  class  of  the  English 
people  to  a  higher  grade  of  intelligence  and  a 
closer  relation  with  the  real  life  of  the  nation. 
The  Puritans  were  in  large  part  from  this  great 
middle  class.  Most  of  those  who  were  distin- 
guished as  scholars  and  authors,  and  leaders  of 
the  people  in  England  at  that  time,  were  of 
humble  origin.  The  Puritans  of  England  shared 
very  fully  the  new  desire  for  education.  A  few 
grammar  schools  had  been  founded  in  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom  for  the  education  of  the 
children  of  the  people,  and  these  schools  had 
much  to  do  in  preparing  the  English  people  to 
secure  their  freedom  at  home,  and  to  plant  free 
Colonies  on  this  side  of  the  sea. 


EDMUND  SPENSER.  3  I  I 


I 

IT  is  well  known  that  the  age  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth was  the  great  age  of  English  literature.  It 
was  the  later  period  of  the  Renaissance,  —  that 
awakening  of  Europe  from  the  sleep  of  centu- 
ries, out  of  which  has  come  our  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty,  with  its  searching  intellectual  spirit, 
—  its  insistence  upon  the  rights  of  the  thinker, 
the  citizen,  and  the  Christian.  For  a  century 
and  a  half  after  the  death  of  Chaucer,  England 
had  produced  very  few  authors  whose  works  are 
worthy  to  be  classed  as  literature ;  but  in  the 
time  of  Elizabeth,  it  produced  a  large  number 
of  historians,  and  poets,  and  dramatists,  whose 
works  are  read  to  this  day.  The  singers  flooded 
the  land  with  their  songs,  and  England  became, 
as  one  old  writer  has  told  us,  "  a  nest  of  singing 
birds."  The  Puritan  party  included  a  fair  pro- 
portion of  the  men  of  genius  and  of  learning  in 
England.  The  literature  which  the  Puritan 
divines  have  left  us  is  certainly  profound  and 
scholarly. 

Edmund  Spenser,  our  earliest  great  poet  since 
the  time  of  Chaucer,  was  born   in   1553,  eleven 
years  earlier  than  Shakespeare.     He     Edmund 
took  his  Bachelor's  degree  at    Pern-     si*0861"- 
broke,  Cambridge,  in  1573,  and  his  Master's  de- 
gree in  1576.     He  was  the  friend  of  Sir  Philip 


312  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

Sidney  and  of  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  Mr.  Lowell 
tells  us  that  he  was  "fortunate  in  the  friendship 
of  the  best  men  and  women  of  his  time.  All 
that  we  know  of  him  is  amiable  and  of  good  re- 
port. He  was  faithful  to  the  friendships  of  his 
youth,  pure  in  his  loves,  unspotted  in  his  life." 
In  1579,  he  published  his  "  Shepherd's  Calendar," 
which  showed  him  to  be  in  hearty  sympathy  with 
the  Puritans.  About  the  year  1590,  he  pub- 
lished a  part  of  the  "Faery  Queen,"  which  he 
dedicated  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  It  was  received 
with  enthusiasm  by  all  classes  of  the  English 
people.  One  of  the  old  writers  has  said,  "  It  be- 
came the  delight  of  every  accomplished  gentle- 
man, the  model  of  every  poet,  the  solace  of  every 
soldier.  It  expressed  the  earnest  spirit  of  the 
time."  The  poem  is  Protestant  and  Puritan  in 
its  whole  spirit  and  tendency.  It  celebrates  the 
contest  of  the  English  Queen  with  the  Papacy. 
"  The  worst  foe  of  the  Red  Cross  Knight,"  said 
John  Richard  Green,  "is  the  false,  and  scarlet 
clad  Duessa  of  Rome."1  King  James  wished 
to  have  the  poet  prosecuted  for  the  references 
which  he  recognized  to  his  mother,  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots,  as  the  Duessa  of  the  poem.  Spenser 
was  the  most  learned  of  our  poets  excepting  Mil- 
ton. He  was  well  read  in  natural  and  moral 
philosophy,  and  was  an  admirable  Greek  scholar. 

1  Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  ii.  463-465. 


JOHN  MIL  TON:  313 


He  was  familiar  with  the  Divine  Comedy  of  Dante, 
and  with  the  writings  of  many  other  Italian  authors. 
The  other  great  Puritan  poet  who  was  read  by 
our  Puritan  ancestors  was  John  Milton,  who  was 
born  in  1608,  fifty-five  years  later  than 

John  Milton. 

Spenser.      He   was  the  highest  and 
most  complete  type  of  Puritanism.     Spenser  was 
his  model  as  a  poet.     He  admired  Shakespeare 
also :  — 

"  Sweetest  Shakespeare,  Fancy's  child, 
Warble  his  native  wood  notes  wild." l 

He  was  a  student  at  Christ  College,  Cambridge, 
and  took  his  first  degree  in  1628,  and  his  second 
in  1632.  All  his  earlier  years  were  given  to 
literature,  and  he  became  one  of  the  most  ac- 
complished scholars  of  his  time.  He  began  to 
publish  poetry  while  yet  a  youth.  He  travelled 
in  Italy,  and  was  about  to  cross  to  Sicily  and 
Greece  when  he  learned  of  the  civil  war  in  Eng- 
land. "  I  considered  it  disgraceful,"  he  said, 
"that,  while  my  fellow  countrymen  were  fighting 
at  home  for  liberty,  I  should  be  travelling  abroad 
for  intellectual  purposes."  He  returned  to  Eng- 
land to  take  his  part  in  the  struggle,  to  which  he 
devoted  his  life  from  1640  to  1660.  He  became 
the  literary  leader  of  the  Puritans,  as  Cromwell 
was  their  political  leader.  He  was  the  Latin  Sec- 
retary to  the  Council,  and  his  state  papers  were 

1  L' Allegro,  line  128. 


314  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

of  the  greatest  service.  His  sight  was  impaired 
by  his  devotion  to  his  duties,  but  when  he  was 
warned  of  the  danger  of  total  blindness  if  he  con- 
tinued to  use  his  eyes,  he  said  that  his  duty  was 
pressing,  and  that  he  should  shut  his  ears  to 
yEsculapius  himself,  speaking  in  his  temple,  so 
long  as  the  work  needed  to  be  done.  He  went 
on  with  his  work,  but  he  lost  his  sight,  and  his 
best  years  were  passed  in  total  darkness.  His 
greatest  poems,  which  "the  world  will  not  wil- 
lingly let  die,"  were  written  during  those  years. 

A  still  more  notable  poet  of  the  Puritan  age, 
greater  in  some  respects  than  Spenser  or  Milton, 
wiiiiam  shake-  was  William  Shakespeare.  He  lived 
speare-  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  Puritan  age, 

as  Milton  lived  in  the  later  half  of  that  age.  His 
public  career  was  comprised  between  the  years 
1586  and  1616,  a  period  of  thirty  years.  This 
was  a  very  important  period  in  English  history, 
in  some  respects  the  most  important.  It  included 
the  later  seventeen  years  of  the  great  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  and  thirteen  years  of  the  reign,  not 
so  great,  of  James  the  First.  It  covered  the  best 
part  of  the  Elizabethan  period  of  our  literature. 
It  was  the  time  of  Lord  Bacon  and  Sir  Philip 
Sidney  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  of  Ben  Jon- 
son  and  the  rest  of  the  early  dramatists.  The 
plans  for  the  settlement  of  this  country  were 
forming  during  those  years.  The  first  Colony  in 


THE  SWEET  BARD  OF  AVON.  3*5 

Virginia  was  planted  nine  years  before  Shake- 
speare died;  and  the  Mayflower  landed  at  Ply- 
mouth only  four  years  after  his  death.  The 
line  between  the  Cavaliers  and  the  Puritans  was 
drawn  during  his  lifetime.  Virginia  was  settled 
by  representatives  of  the  one  party,  and  Massa- 
chusetts by  representatives  of  the  other  party. 


II 

WILLIAM  SHAKESPEARE,  "  the  sweet  bard  of 
Avon,"  was  born  three  hundred  and  thirty-five 
years  ago,  in  Stratford  on  Avon,  a  Shakespeare's 
small  village  in  Middle  England,  of  ***J™*- 
fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  people.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ant country,  of  green  meadows,  leafy  hedges,  and 
shade  trees.  The  road  from  London  to  Liver- 
pool crosses  the  River  Avon  at  this  place  by  an 
old  bridge  of  fourteen  arches.  There  were  two 
handsome  public  buildings  in  Stratford  in  Shake- 
speare's time,  —  the  Guildhall,  with  its  chapel 
and  Grammar  School,  its  chime  of  bells,  and 
its  fine  frescos,  —  and  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  in  which  Shakespeare  was  baptized, 
April  26,  1564,  and  in  which  he  was  buried  fifty- 
two  years  later.  We  do  not  know  the  day  of  his 
birth,  for  family  records  were  not  kept  in  those 
days  among  the  plain  people,  like  the  Shake- 
speare family  of  that  generation.  It  is  probable 


SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 


that  it  was  three  or  four  days  before  the  date  of 
his  baptism.  That  was  not  an  age  of  genera1 
education,  as  we  may  infer  from  the  fact  that, 
although  the  father  of  the  poet  was  a  man  of 
business,  and  also  the  Bailiff,  and  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  he  was  unable  to  write  his  name  in 
the  baptismal  register.  He  made  his  mark,  as 
did  also  his  wife,  Mary  Arden,  who  was  of  an 
ancient  English  family,  which  traced  its  history 
back  to  the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror.  It 
is  very  likely  that  the  poetic  genius  of  Shake- 
speare would  have  been  lost  to  the  world  but  for 
the  fact  that  a  Grammar  School  had  been  estab- 
lished in  Stratford  a  few  years  before.  This  was 
one  of  the  small  number  of  such  schools  at  that 
time  in  England.  To  this  school  the  son  of  the 
Bailiff  of  Stratford  was  sent  when  he  was  about 
seven  years  old.  We  do  not  know  very  much  of 
his  childhood,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  remained 
in  this  school  six  or  seven  years.  The  school 
hours  occupied  the  whole  day,  with  intermissions 
for  meals  and  for  recreation.  In  the  fourth 
act  of  "  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  "  there  is 
a  reminiscence  of  these  school  days,  where  the 
schoolmaster,  Sir  Hugh  Evans,  a  Welsh  parson, 
hears  William  repeat  his  hie,  h&c,  hoc,  and  re- 
minds him  that  lapis  means  a  stone,  and  pulcher 
means  fair.1  In  this  school  the  young  poet 

1  Act  iv.  Scene  i. 


HIS  EDUCA  TIOX.  3  I  7 


gleaned  the  rudiments  of  his  education  ;  —  in- 
cluding the  "  small  Latin  and  less  Greek  "  which 
Ben  Jonson  tells  us  he  possessed.  The  school 
course  was  generally  over  when  a  boy  was  four- 
teen. It  is  said  that  when  William  was  of  about 
that  age  he  was  removed  from  school  as  his 
father  had  need  of  him  in  his  business.  Visitors 
to  Stratford  are  still  shown  the  room  in  the 
Grammar  School  in  which  he  is  said  to  have 
been  taught,  and  the  desk  at  which  he  is  said  to 
have  studied. 

It  is  commonly  stated  that  William  assisted 
his  father  in  his  business  as  a  glover,  and  a  small 
farmer,  for  some  years  after  he  left  school.  Some 
tell  us  that  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  an 
attorney  for  a  part  of  the  time,  and  that  his  re- 
markable knowledge  of  legal  terms  and  legal 
proceedings  was  gained  during  those  years. 

When  he  was  eighteen,  he  married  Anne 
Hathaway  of  Shottery,  a  hamlet  in  the  same 
parish,  a  woman  eight  years  older  than  himself; 
and  he  seems  to  have  made  his  plans  to  settle 
down  in  Stratford,  and  to  follow  the  same  way 
of  life  that  his  father  was  following.  So  little 
did  the  youthful  poet  and  dramatist  forecast  jhis 
future.  But  his  father  was  in  serious  financial 
difficulties  about  that  time.  He  lost  the  larger 
part  of  his  property,  and  the  business  was  too 
small  for  the  support  of  two  families.  William 


SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 


Shakespeare   had   three   children    born    to   h 
within  less  than  three  years  after  his   marriag 
and  there  was  a  probability  that  both  the  families 
would  fall  into  poverty.     There  is  also  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  young  man  fell  into  evil  company, 
and  that  he  was  led  by  his  companions  to  en- 
croach upon  the  park  of  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  the 
great  landowner  of  that  region,  and  to  shoot  rab- 
bits and  deer.     It  is  even  said  that  Sir  Thomas 
had  him  "  oft  whipt  and  imprisoned." 

So  that,  in  consequence  of  his  poverty,  and 
perhaps  also  his  misdeeds,  Shakespeare  left  his 
native  town  at  about  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and 
went  to  London  to  begin  the  illustrious  career 
which  he  would  very  likely  have  missed  but  for 
his  misfortunes.  His  wife  and  children  re- 
mained in  Stratford,  and  he  saw  them  only  at 
long  intervals.  But  he  never  lost  sight  of  Strat- 
ford, and  as  soon  as  he  was  able  he  began  to 
purchase  land  and  other  property  there,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  family,  and  that  of  his  father. 

Arrived  in  London,  he  connected  himself  at 
once  with  the  theatre.  The  tradition  is  that  he 
earned  his  first  money  by  holding  the  horses  of 
the  gentlemen  who  had  ridden  to  the  play,  and 
that  he  won  so  much  favor  that  he  had  to  engage 
boys  as  his  assistants,  who  were  called  "  Shake- 
speare's boys."  His  first  business  in  the  theatre 
itself  was  that  of  a  prompter's  attendant,  whose 


HIS  OCCUPA  TION  IN  LONDON.  3  I  9 

duty  it  was  to  give  notice  to  the  players  of  the 
time  for  their  entrance.  He  soon  rose  above 
these  menial  positions,  and  became  an  actor. 
At  first  he  played  the  minor  parts,  and,  as  he 
gained  experience,  those  that  were  more  impor- 
tant. There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  he  was 
especially  successful  as  an  actor.  The  most  im- 
portant part  which  we  know  that  he  played  was 
that  of  the  ghost  in  his  own  "  Hamlet."  After  a 
time  he  began  to  write.  At  first  he  was  content 
to  revise  and  improve  such  plays  as  were  already 
in  use  in  the  theatre.  He  came  by  degrees  to 
do  more  important  work,  and  work  that  was 
more  original.  Within  about  three  years  after 
he  left  his  native  village,  he  became  connected 
with  a  company  of  actors,  known  as  the  Lord 
Chamberlain's  Company.  In  the  course  of  time, 
he  was  a  shareholder  in  this  company,  and  he 
continued  to  be  a  member  until  he  left  London. 

Some  of  his  earliest  tragedies  were  the  his- 
torical plays,  which  are  so  excellent  that  Lord 
Chatham  used  to  say  that  he  had  gained  his 
knowledge  of  history  from  the  plays  of  Shake- 
speare. In  these  plays,  he  follows  the  older 
English  chronicles,  especially  those  of  Holin- 
shed,  so  that  the  genius  of  the  dramatist  ap- 
pears not  so  much  in  the  story  as  in  the  filling 
out  of  the  plot.  The  more  original  plays  of 
Shakespeare  were  written  between  1592  and 


32O  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

1612.  These  twenty  years  of  greatest  literary 
activity  cover  the  period  from  his  twenty-ninth 
to  his  forty-ninth  year.  His  income  during  those 
years  must  have  been  considerable.  In  1597, 
when  he  was  thirty-three,  he  bought  the  New 
Place,  or  Great  House,  in  Stratford,  for  sixty 
pounds  sterling,  a  sum  equal  to  $1,500  of  our 
present  money.  It  had  been  built  by  Sir  Hugh 
Clypton.  It  was  at  that  time  the  largest  and 
finest  house  in  Stratford.  The  possession  of 
this  place  enabled*  Shakespeare  to  gather  his 
family,  and  perhaps  the  family  of  his  father,  into 
a  comfortable  home,  and  it  also  added  to  his 
own  importance,  and  gave  him  a  better  social 
position.  About  this  time  the  elder  Shakespeare 
applied  at  the  Herald's  College  for  a  coat  of 
arms.  The  conferring  of  a  coat  of  arms  implied 
formal  admittance  into  the  ranks  of  the  gentry. 
The  application  was  granted  in  1599,  so  that 
John  Shakespeare  had  a  right  from  that  time 
to  write  his  name  John  Shakespeare,  Gentleman. 
In  later  years,  Shakespeare  bought  other  prop- 
erty in  Stratford.  A  few  years  later,  he  pur- 
chased a  house  in  London.  A  little  before  he 
was  fifty,  Shakespeare  left  the  theatre,  and  re- 
tired to  his  home  in  Stratford,  where  he  died  at 
the  age  of  fifty-two. 


THE  PURITANS  OF  HIS  TIME.  321 

III 

THIS  sketch  of  the  life  of  William  Shakespeare 
will  help  us  understand  his  relation  to  the  English 
Puritans.  The  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada  in 
1588  gave  the  English  people  a  new  sense  of  se- 
curity and  of  power.  When  Elizabeth  began  to 
reign,  England  was  hardly  recognized  as  one  of 
the  great  powers  of  Europe.  The  victory  over 
Spain,  three  centuries  ago,  made  England  the 
mistress  of  the  seas,  and  at  the  same  time  it 
placed  her  at  the  head  of  the  Protestant  powers 
of  Europe.  The  Puritans  were  the  advanced 
Christians  of  their  time,  as  the  Methodists  were 
two  hundred  years  later.  The  name  Puritan 
was  given  in  derision,  as  the  name  Methodist 
was  given.  The  Puritans  were  rising  into  greater 
prominence  all  through  the  time  of  Shakespeare. 
They  stood  for  freedom  in  the  Church  and  in  the 
State,  against  arbitrary  government.  They  were 
not  at  first  hostile  to  the  Established  Church  of 
England.  The  leading  Puritans  were  members 
of  that  church,  and  they  were  seeking  its  growth, 
and  its  purity. 

In  1603  Elizabeth  died,  and  James  the  First 
became  King.  In  the  first  year  of  his  reign  a 
large  number  of  clergymen  of  the  English  Church 
presented  an  earnest  petition,  asking  for  certain 
reforms  in  the  services  of  the  church.  The  peti- 

21 


322  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

tion  expressed  the  wishes  of  a  decided  majority 
of  the  Protestants  of  the  kingdom.  But  it  was 
rejected,  with  the  threat  that  force  would  be  used 
to  compel  them  to  conform  to  the  usages  and 
ceremonies  to  which  they  had  declared  their 
conscientious  opposition.  In  1604,  while  Shake- 
speare was  still  in  London,  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, which  contained  a  majority  of  Puritans, 
began  the  great  contest  for  the  rights  of  the 
people,  which  continued,  with  some  interruptions, 
until  the  Revolution  in  1688,  which  secured  the 
freedom  of  England  for  all  time.  The  most 
prominent  English  historians  of  later  times  have 
given  emphatic  testimony  to  the  earnestness  and 
the  success  of  the  efforts  of  the  Puritans  in  behalf 
of  English  liberty.  Hume,  for  example,  states 
that  they  "  kindled  the  precious  spark  of  liberty," 
and  that  "  England  owes  the  whole  freedom  of  its 
constitution  to  the  Puritans  alone." 

It  is  a  question  of  very  great  interest,  why  we 
have  no  adequate  reference  to  these  greatest 
events  of  the  time  in  the  dramatic  works  of 
Shakespeare.  We  find  constant  references  to 
them  by  other  great  writers  of  that  splendid 
period  of  our  literary  history.  Why  should  not 
Shakespeare  have  made  such  references?  We 
naturally  expect  to  find  the  spirit  of  an  age  re- 
flected in  its  literature.  That  is  one  of  the 
highest  functions  of  a  national  literature.  Our 


PURITANS  OF  STRATFORD.  323 

American  poets — Bryant,  Longfellow,  Whittier, 
Lowell,  Mrs.  Howe,  and  the  rest  —  have  entered 
very  heartily  into  the  great  events  of  the  time 
in  this  country,  such  as  the  Antislavery  move- 
ment, and  the  War  for  the  Union.  They  have 
written  our  patriotic  odes,  and  our  war  songs, 
such  as  the  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic.  It 
is  very  true  there  has  been  a  variety  of  opinions 
among  American  authors  in  respect  to  some  of 
the  questions  involved,  as  there  has  been  among 
the  other  people  of  the  country,  but  as  a  class 
they  have  entered  into  the  great  questions  of  the 
age.  They  have  been  men  of  convictions,  and 
have  expressed  their  convictions  in  their  works. 
Why  should  not  our  greatest  English  dramatist 
have  reflected  in  his  dramas  the  highest  aspira- 
tions of  his  time? 

It  adds  a  little  to  the  force  of  these  inquiries 
to  call  to  mind  the  fact  that  Stratford,  the  early 
home  of  Shakespeare,  was  one  of  the  The  Puritans 
strongholds  of  Puritanism.  Richard  ta  Stratford. 
Byfield,  a  Puritan  minister,  was  vicar  of  the 
church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  Stratford  in  1596. 
William  Whately  and  Dr.  Robert  Harris,  both 
eminent  Puritans,  were  among  the  "lecturers" 
at  Stratford.  Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  the  aristocratic 
gentleman  of  the  region,  and  its  representative 
in  Parliament,  was  a  leader  among  the  Puritans. 
John  Fox,  author  of  the  Book  of  Martyrs,  found 


324  SHAKESPEARE  AND  THE  PURITANS. 

refuge  from  persecution  in  his  hospitable  man- 
sion. Warwickshire  was  at  that  time  one  of 
the  Puritan  districts  of  England.  Thomas  Cart- 
wright,  the  great  Puritan  preacher,  was  in  War- 
wick for  many  years.  The  Martin-mar-prelate 
press  was  at  one  time  concealed  in  the  same 
county.1 

The  eldest  daughter  of  Shakespeare  was  also 
a  Puritan.  Her  husband,  a  skilful  physician,  is 
said  to  have  been  "  a  zealous  Protestant,"  which 
meant  in  those  days  a  Puritan.  We  are  told 
that,  "  so  eminent  was  he,  that  even  those  who 
hated  him  for  his  religion  made  use  of  him."  We 
learn  from  the  epitaph  of  his  wife  that  she  was 

"  Witty  above  her  sex,  but  that 's  not  all, 
Wise  to  salvation,  was  good  Mistress  Hall. 
Something  of  Shakespeare  was  in  that :  but  this 
Wholly  of  Him  with  whom  she  's  now  in  bliss." 

It  is  plain  from  the  dramas  that  Shakespeare 
knew  all  about  the  Puritans,  and  that  he  did  not 
like  them.  He  makes  use  of  the  name  Puri- 
tan a  few  times,  but  it  never  has  any  special  signi- 
ficance.. Thus,  we  read  in  Twelfth  Night:  — 

"  Maria.    Marry,  sir,  sometimes  he  is  a  kind  of  Puritan. 
"  Sir  Andrew.    O,  if  I  thought  that,  I  'd  beat  him  like  a  dog. 
"  Sir  Toby.   What !    for   being   a   Puritan  ?    thy  exquisite 
reason,  dear  knight? 

1  Prof.  John  W.  Hales,  in  Contemporary  Review,  January,  1895. 
Shakespeare  and  Puritanism. 


HIS    TREATMENT  OF  THE   PURITANS.  325 

"  Sir  Andrew.  I  have  no  exquisite  reason  for  %  but  I  have 
reason  good  enough. 

"  Maria.  The  devil  a  Puritan  that  he  is  or  anything  con- 
stantly, but  a  time  pleaser."  l 

In  Winter's  Tale,  the  Clown  says :  — 

"But  one  Puritan  amongst  them,  and  he  sings  psalms  to 
hornpipes."  2 

In  Pericles:  — 

"She  would  make  a  Puritan  of  the  devil  if  he  should 
cheapen  a  kiss  of  her."  8 

In  All's  Well  That  Ends  Well,  the  Clown 
says : — 

"Though  honesty  be  no  Puritan,  yet  it  will  do  no  hurt."  4 

But  although  Shakespeare  does  not  make  much 
account  of  the  Puritans,  he  never  reviles  them, 
as  the  other  writers  of  plays  in  his  time  were 
continually  doing.  There  was  too  much  fair- 
ness and  kindness  about  "  the  gentle  Shake- 
speare" to  permit  him  to  indulge  in  the  pastime 
of  Puritan  baiting.  He  may  have  been  restrained 
by  regard  for  his  favorite  daughter,  and  for  his 
old  neighbors  at  Stratford.  It  is  said,  on  the 
authority  of  an  ancient  record,  that  after  his  re- 
turn to  Stratford,  Shakespeare  entertained  a 
Puritan  preacher  at  the  New  Place. 

1  Act  ii.  Scene  3.  3  Act  iv.  Sc.  5. 

2  Act  iv.  Sc.  2.  4  Act  i.  Sc.  3. 


326  SHAKESPEARE  AND    THE  PURITANS. 

It  has  been  common  to  speak  of  Shakespeare 
as  remarkable  for  comprehensiveness.  We  have 
called  him  the  "  myriad-minded  Shakespeare." 
A  recent  writer  has  said:  "His  universality  is 
the  secret  and  measure  of  his  power.  He  was  a 
man  of  universal  sympathy,  and  universal  obser- 
vation. His  reading  was  extensive  for  his  day. 
He  read  nothing  that  he  did  not  remember,  and 
make  real  to  himself.  He  saw  nothing  in  the 
present  which  was  not  to  him  prophetic  of  the 
future."1  Statements  quite  as  strong  as  these 
could  be  quoted  from  some  of  the  latest  discus- 
sions of  the  dramas  of  Shakespeare.  But  did 
not  our  great  dramatist  find  anything  prophetic 
of  the  future  in  English  Puritanism  ? 


IV 

ONE  thing  that  is  plain  from  his  writings  is 
this :  The  sympathies  of  Shakespeare  do  not 
me  common  seem  to  have  been  broad  enough  to 
people.  include  the  common  people,  such  as 

the  larger  number  of  the  Puritans  were.  He 
was  himself  a  country  boy,  accustomed  to  the 
habits  of  a  rural  town.  He  seems  to  have  gone 
to  London  in  poverty,  and  to  have  lived  a  frugal 
and  industrious  life  in  the  metropolis,  so  as  to 

1  Prof.  William  S.  Tyler  of  Amherst,  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  1855, 
P.  494- 


SLIGHT  OF  THE   COMMON  PEOPLE.  327 

better  his  fortunes,  and  provide  for  his  family. 
His  wonderful  genius  enabled  him  to  succeed 
as  a  dramatic  poet,  and  to  acquire  a  fortune  that 
was  ample  for  those  times. 

It  would  have  been  natural  for  Shakespeare, 
whose  early  life  placed  him  so  near  the  common 
people,  to  enter  with  all  his  heart  into  the  move- 
ment in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  But 
his  sympathies  seem  to  have  been  the  other  way. 
In  the  historical  plays  he  never  introduces  the 
people  who  are  struggling  against  tyranny,  except 
to  show  that  they  are  fools  who  deserve  their 
chains.  He  represents  every  uprising  against 
oppression  as  an  outbreak  of 

"  Moody  beggars,  starving  for  a  time 
Of  pell-mell  havoc  and  confusion." 

In  Julius  Caesar,  for  example,  Flavius  says  to 
the  laborers :  — 

"  Hence  !  home,  you  idle  creatures,  get  you  home."  l 

And  Marcellus  says  to  them :  — 

"  You  blocks,  you  stones,  you  worse  than  senseless  things ! "  2 

In  the  next  scene  Casca  says  :  — 

"The  rabblement  shouted,  and  clapped  their  chapp'd 
hands,  and  threw  up  their  sweaty  night-caps,  and  uttered 
such  a  deal  of  stinking  breath,  because  Caesar  refused  the 
crown." 

1  Julius  Caesar,  Act  i.  Sc.  I.  2  Ibid. 


328  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

And  further  on  :  — 

"  If  the  tag-rag  people  did  not  clap  him,  and  hiss  him, 
according  as  he  pleased  and  displeased  them,  as  they  use  to 
do  the  players  in  the  theatre,  I  am  no  true  man."  l 

In  Coriolanus,  Agrippa  says  to  the  people:  — 
"  Rome  and  her  rats  are  at  the  point  of  battle."  * 

But  this  was  in  old  Rome.  How  does  he 
speak  of  the  people  in  the  English  historical 
plays?  In  the  Second  Part  of  King  Henry  VI. 
he  represents  the  famous  Jack  Cade  and  his 
followers  as  a  crowd  of  ignorant  and  unreason- 
able rebels.3  But  that  is  not  as  they  are  repre- 
sented by  the  historical  writers  whom  Shakespeare 
usually  followed.  There  was  great  and  general 
discontent  in  certain  counties  of  England  in 
1450.  An  insurrection  broke  out,  and  an  army 
of  twenty  thousand  men  was  gathered.  It  in- 
cluded a  considerable  number  of  men  of  intelli- 
gence and  of  wealth.  Some  great  landowners 
were  there,  and  some  ecclesiastics.  Jack  Cade 
was  a  soldier  of  experience  and  courage.  The 
complaints  that  they  set  forth  were  reasonable. 
They  called  for  reforms  in  the  administration, 
and  a  more  careful  expenditure  of  the  revenues. 
Even  a  writer  so  favorable  to  Shakespeare  as 
Richard  Grant  White  says:  "Shakespeare  did 

1  Act  i.  Sc.  2.  2  Act  i.  Sc.  i.  8  Act  iv.  Sc.  2  and  6. 


KING  JOHN.  329 


not  conform  strictly  to  history  in  this  scene."  :  In 
fact,  for  some  reason,  he  departed  from  the  state- 
ments of  Holinshed,  and  put  the  speeches  of 
Wat  Tyler  and  his  companions,  of  seventy  years 
before,  into  the  mouth  of  Jack  Cade.  So  un- 
willing was  Shakespeare  to  give  any  credit  to 
the  complaints  of  the  people,  that  he  perverted 
the  facts  of  history  in  this  instance,  although  in 
most  instances  he  has  reproduced  historic  facts 
with  wonderful  accuracy. 

Another  instance  of  the  same  kind  is  found 
in  the  play  of  King  John,  which  covers  the  period 
of  Magna  Charta,  that  earliest  and  greatest  charter 
of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  English  people. 
King  John  was  claiming  autocratic  power,  just 
as  the  Stuarts  did  at  a  later  day.  How  great  an 
addition  to  this  drama  would  have  been  the  scene 
at  Runnymede,  where  the  King  was  compelled 
by  his  armed  barons  to  give  his  assent  to  the 
parchment  which  secured  to  all  his  subjects  a 
government  of  law,  meting  out  equal  justice  to 
the  commons  and  to  the  nobles. 

The  truth  is,  the  sympathies  of  Shakespeare, 
country  bred  as  he  was,  seem  to  have  been  with 
the  nobility,  and  not  with  the  rising  middle 
classes,  who  were  contending  for  their  rights  as 

1  Notes  to  the  Second  Part  of  Henry  VI.  Also  Greene's 
History  of  the  English  People,  i.  565.  Brandes'  Shakespeare, 


33°  SHAKESPEARE  AND    THE   PURITANS. 

men  and  as  Englishmen.  He  was  the  poet  of 
gay  and  merry  England,  not  of  thoughtful  and 
serious  England.  His  associates  were  young 
English  noblemen,  who  frequented  the  theatres, 
such  as  Essex  and  Leicester.  "  His  heroes,"  says 
a  recent  Danish  writer,  "  were  princes  and  noble- 
men, the  kings  and  barons  of  England.  It  is 
always  they,  in  his  eyes,  who  make  history,  of 
which  he  shows  throughout  a  naively  heroic  con- 
ception. In  the  wars  which  he  presents,  it  is 
always  an  individual  leader  and  hero  on  whom 
everything  depends.  It  is  Henry  V.  who  wins 
the  day  at  Agincourt;  just  as  in  Homer  it  is 
Achilles  who  conquers  before  Troy.  Yet  in 
fact  the  whole  issue  of  these  wars  depended  upon 
the  foot  soldiers.  It  was  the  English  archers 
who  at  Agincourt  defeated  the  French  army. 
Shakespeare  certainly  did  not  divine  that  it  was 
the  rise  of  the  middle  classes,  and  their  spirit  of 
enterprise  that  constituted  the  strength  of  Eng- 
land under  Elizabeth.  He  regarded  his  age  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  man  who  was  accus- 
tomed to  see,  in  richly  endowed  and  princely 
young  noblemen,  the  very  crown  of  humanity, 
the  patrons  of  all  lofty  efforts,  and  the  originators 
of  all  great  achievements." 1 

The  fact  is,  there  were  two  Englands  in  the 
time  of  Elizabeth  and  of  James  the  First:  —  the 

1  A  Critical  Study  of  Shakespeare  by  George  Brandes,  i.  131. 


GENEROUS  SYMPATHIES  OF  SHAKESPEARE.  331 

England  of  the  Court,  the  nobility,  the  clergy 
of  the  Established  Church,  all  those  who  were 
clinging  to  the  traditions  of  the  past;  —  and  the 
England  of  the  common  people,  who  were  rising 
into  a  condition  of  intelligence,  and  who  were 
seeking  to  secure  their  freedom  in  the  state, 
and  to  build  up  a  truly  Protestant  Church. 
These  people  had  some  democratic  ideas.  They 
were  represented  in  those  times  by  the  leaders  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  A  great  many  of  this 
class  of  Englishmen  were  Puritans.  Shakespeare, 
with  his  limited  historic  culture,  failed  to  recog- 
nize the  tokens  of  a  new  life  for  his  native  land. 

It  was  not  so  with  Milton,  or  with  Spenser. 
Milton  showed  a  prophetic  insight  in  his  politi- 
cal pamphlets  entitled  "  A  Defence  of  the  People 
of  England,"  and  "The  Tenure  of  Kings  and 
Magistrates,"  and  "  A  Speech  for  the  Liberty  of 
Unlicensed  Printing."  Spenser  saw  very  clearly 
how  much  the  Protestant  Reformation  meant  for 
England,  and  his  sympathies  and  influence  were 
with  the  party  of  progress. 

On  the  other  hand,  Shakespeare  was  a  man  of 
large  and  generous  sympathies.  His  personality 
was  especially  attractive.  He  is  oftenest  spoken 
of  by  his  contemporaries  as  the  "  gentle  Shake- 
speare." He  was  perhaps  in  sympathy  with  those 
in  the  aristocratic  classes,  because  in  his  Lon- 
don life  he  knew  them  better  than  he  knew  the 


SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 


common  people.  They  were  the  patrons  of  the 
Generous  Nature  theatre,  while  the  Puritans,  as  a  class, 
of  Shakespeare.  were  unfriendly  to  theatrical  exhibi- 
tions. They  passed  laws  which  restricted  such 
exhibitions,  and  in  some  localities  they  prohib- 
ited them.  In  Shakespeare's  time,  the  most  of 
them  were  not  the  patrons  of  art.  There  was  a 
natural  reason  why  the  great  dramatist  was  es- 
pecially friendly  to  those  who  patronized  the 
drama  most  generously.  The  common  people 
were,  in  the  opinion  of  men  of  his  class,  unable 
to  appreciate  it.  He  could  not  have  foreseen 
that  three  centuries  after  he  had  ceased  to  write, 
his  dramas  would  be  published  in  great  popular 
editions,  and  read  and  appreciated  by  multitudes 
of  people  who  did  not  belong  to  the  classes  which, 
in  his  time,  had  so  high  a  social  position. 

In  the  drama  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  which 
covers  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  English 
Henry  the  Reformation,  there  is  hardly  a  sug- 

**&**•  gestion  of  the  great  changes  in  the 

English  Church  that  were  in  progress.  We  learn 
in  the  fifth  act,  quite  incidentally,  that  Archbishop 
Cranmer  was  something  of  a  heretic,  who  by  his 
teaching  and  his  chaplains  was  filling  the  realm 

"  With  new  opinions, 

Divers  and  dangerous,  which  are  heresies, 
And,  not  reformed,  may  prove  pernicious."  : 

1  Act  v.  Sc.  2. 


HIS  ESTIMATE   OF  HIS  DRAMAS. 


333 


It  is  also  mentioned  that  Anne  Bullen,  the 
Queen,  is 

"  A  spleeny  Lutheran,  and  not  wholesome  to 
Our  cause."  l 

But  that  is  about  all  that  we  learn  from  that  play 
of  the  profound  changes  among  the  people  of 
England  which  placed  them  on  the  Protestant 
side.  Shakespeare  quotes  very  often  from  Fox's 
"  Book  of  Martyrs,"  from  which  it  is  reasonable 
to  infer  that  he  was  acquainted  with  the  out- 
ward facts  in  Puritan  history.  But  it  was  not 
given  to  him  to  enter  into  the  meaning  of  the 
great  political  and  religious  movements  from 
which  so  much  of  what  is  best  and  most  dis- 
tinctive in  our  modern  life  has  come. 

V 

THERE  are  other  facts  which  point  to  some  of 
the  limitations  of  Shakespeare.  He  seems  to 
have  had  little  interest  in  the  future  HIS  Estimate  of 
of  the  dramatic  works  on  which  so  hlsplays' 
much  of  his  fame  rests.  Some  of  his  poems,  as 
The  Venus  and  Adonis,  he  gave  to  the  press  him- 
self. His  Sonnets  also  were  perhaps  edited  by 
himself.  We  have  no  reason  to  think  that  he 
intended  to  publish  his  dramas.  Such  of  them 
as  were  given  to  the  press  in  his  lifetime  were 
published  without  his  consent,  perhaps  without 

1  Act  iii.  Sc.  2. 


334  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

his  knowledge.  The  first  edition  of  his  collected 
dramas  was  published  some  years  after  his  death. 
It  contained  nineteen  plays  that  had  been  printed 
in  his  lifetime,  and  eighteen  that  had  not  been 
printed  before.  But  for  the  care  of  the  editors 
of  the  first  folio,  it  is  very  likely  that  all  these 
would  have  been  lost  to  the  world 

These  facts  give  us  an  insight  into  the  spirit 
and  methods  of  Shakespeare.  He  was  an  artist, 
intent  upon  the  work  he  was  doing.  He  found 
his  gratification  in  bringing  out  the  thoughts 
and  visions  that  came  to  him.  He  must  have 
written  rapidly,  with  a  full  mind,  a  glowing  im- 
agination, and  profound  sensibility.  But  he  had 
little  thought  of  his  literary  reputation.  He  was 
also  interested  in  the  pecuniary  profits  of  his  dra- 
matic works.  He  was  a  very  thrifty  man  for  a 
great  poet.  But  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a 
man  of  large  interest  in  the  events  of  his  time,  or 
of  a  generous  public  spirit.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  he  calculated  the  influence  of  his  plays  upon 
the  world,  or  that  he  anticipated  that  he  would 
stand  at  the  head  of  modern  dramatists. 

Mr.  White,  who  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
appreciative  of  the  recent  biographers  of  the  poet, 
states  that  "  Shakespeare  has  left  no  trace  upon 
the  political  or  the  social  life  of  his  time."  He 
adds :  "  There  is  no  evidence  whatever  that  he 
was  personally  known  to  the  eminent  men  who 


PATRIOTISM  OF  SHAKESPEARE. 


335 


were  his  contemporaries,  Sidney,  Bacon,  Hooker, 
Spenser,  Raleigh,  Drake,  Hampden,  Coke,  Pym, 
and  Selden." ]  We  know  who  the  intimate 
friends  of  Shakespeare  were,  —  the  young  men 
who  frequented  the  theatres,  and  the  actors  and 
writers  of  plays.  His  acquaintance  in  London 
does  not  seem  to  have  gone  much  beyond  these 
classes  of  men. 

On  the  other  hand,  Shakespeare  was  a  man  of 
tender  sensibilities.  Few  men  have  been  so 
loved  by  their  friends  as  he  was.  He  was  also 
intensely  patriotic.  There  are  no  finer  passages 
in  his  dramas  than  those  which  breathe  the  spirit 
of  that  noble  English  patriotism,  which  had  so 
strong  a  hold  upon  the  nation  in  the  sixteenth 
century:  He  loved  his  native  land :  — 

"This  scepter' d  isle, 
This  earth  of  majesty,  this  seat  of  Mars, 
This  other  Eden,  demi-paradise, 
This  fortress,  built  by  nature  for  herself, 
Against  infection  and  the  hand  of  war ; 
This  happy  breed  of  men,  this  little  world, 
This  precious  stone  set  in  the  silver  sea,  .  .  . 
This  blessed  plot,  this  earth,  this  realm,  this  England, 
This  nurse,  this  teeming  womb  of  royal  kings,  .  .  . 
Renowned  for  their  deeds.  .  .  . 
This  land  of  such  dear  souls,  this  dear,  dear  land, 
Dear  for  her  reputation  through  the  world."  2 

1  White's  Shakespeare,  vol.  i.  p.  cxi. 

2  King  Richard  II.,  Act  ii.  Sc.  I. 


SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 


Shakespeare  appears  to  have  been  depressed 
by  the  low  estimate  of  his  profession.  In  one  of 
his  Sonnets  he  chides  Fortune,  — 

"  That  did  not  better  for  my  life  provide 
Than  public  means  which  public  manners  breeds. 
Thence  comes  it  that  my  name  receives  a  brand 
And  almost  thence  my  nature  is  subdued 
To  what  it  works  in,  like  the  dyer's  hand."  1 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  the  popular  estimate 
of  the  theatre  in  his  time  was  very  low.  The 
corporation  of  London  compelled  the  players  to 
erect  their  theatres  outside  the  limits  of  the  city. 
So  they  were  built  on  the  south  of  the  Thames, 
near  the  Bear  Garden.  The  theatre  brought  in 
its  train  a  loose,  frivolous,  and  rowdy  population. 
The  position  of  the  actors  was  much  below 
what  it  is  at  present.  No  woman  appeared  on 
the  stage.  There  was  very  little  scenery,  and 
all  the  arrangements  upon  the  stage  were  very 
much  simpler  and  ruder  than  they  are  at  present. 
The  most  fashionable  seats  were  on  the  stage 
itself,  as  they  are  now  in  the  Chinese  theatres. 
"  There,"  says  a  recent  writer,  "  sat  the  amateurs, 
the  noble  patrons  of  the  theatre,  Essex,  South- 
ampton, Pembroke,  Rutland.  There  too  sat  the 
author's  rivals,  the  dramatic  poets,  who  had  free 
admissions  ;  and  there  too  sat  the  shorthand 
writers,  commissioned  by  piratical  booksellers."1 

1  Sonnet  cxi.  2  Brandes,  i.  118-120. 


ETHICAL  ELEMENT.  337 


It  is  stated  by  some  writers  that  dramatic  works 
were  hardly  ranked  as  literature  in  the  time  of 
Shakespeare.  He  wrote  his  dramas  under  the 
inspiration  of  his  matchless  genius,  but  he  seems 
to  have  estimated  them  less  highly  than  he  did 
some  of  his  poems. 


VI 

THE  question  has  been  much  debated  whether 
Shakespeare  had  any  conscious  moral  purpose  in 
his  dramatic    works.      On    the    one 
hand,  Mr.   White  says  that  "  the  di-  Element  in 


rect  moral  influence  of  Shakespeare 
is  nothing,  and  we  may  be  sure  that  he  wrote 
with  no  moral  purpose." 1  Jonson  says  that 
Shakespeare  "carries  his  persons  indifferently 
through  right  and  wrong,  and  at  the  close  dis- 
misses them  without  further  care,  and  leaves 
their  example  to  operate  by  chance."  Mr.  Lowell 
tells  us  that  "  it  is  doubtful  if  Shakespeare  had 
any  conscious  moral  intention  in  his  writings. 
In  this  he  was  purely  and  primarily  a  poet.  .  .  . 
He  had  no  moral  intention,  for  the  reason  that, 
as  an  artist,  it  was  not  his  to  deal  with  the  reali- 
ties, but  only  with  the  shows  of  things;  yet  with 
a  temperament  so  just,  an  insight  so  inevitable 
as  his,  it  was  impossible  that  the  moral  reality, 

i  White's  Shakespeare,  vol.  i.  p.  ccxliv. 


22 


33$  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

which  underlies  the  mirage  of  the  poet's  vision 
should  not  always  be  suggested."  l 

On  the  other  hand,  inasmuch  as  the  moral 
nature  of  Shakespeare  seems  to  have  been  re- 
markably pure  and  healthy,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  he  would  aim  to  secure  a  good 
moral  influence  by  his  dramas.  He  had  what  I 
may  almost  call  a  Puritan  conscience,  the  con- 
science which,  as  he  said,  "  doth  make  cowards  oi 
us  all."  He  constantly  recognizes  the  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong.  It  is  the  King  in 
Hamlet  who  says  that, 

"  In  the  corrupted  currents  of  this  world, 
Offence's  gilded  hand  may  shove  by  justice, 
And  oft  't  is  seen  the  wicked  prize  itself 
Buys  out  the  law  :  but  't  is  not  so  above  : 
There  is  no  shuffling,  there  the  action  lies 
In  his  true  nature ;  and  we  ourselves  compell'd, 
Even  to  the  teeth  and  forehead  of  our  faults, 
To  give  in  evidence."  2 

The  Puritans  of  his  time  insisted  that  there 
was  no  moral  purpose  in  his  dramas,  and  they 
gave  this  reason  for  their  opposition  to  the  the- 
atre. But  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  moral 
tone  of  the  works  of  Shakespeare  is  very  much 
higher  than  that  of  many  other  English  drama- 
tists of  his  time.  If  he  had  no  "  conscious  moral 

1  Among  My  Books,  i.  226,  227, 

2  Hamlet,  Act  iii.  Sc.  3. 


NO  MORAL  PURPOSE.  339 


purpose  in  his  plays,"  yet  unconsciously,  as  a 
man  of  lofty  ideals,  he  would  naturally  lean  to 
virtue's  side  in  his  representations  of  life.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  some  men  will  learn  more  of 
truth  and  duty  from  the  great  tragedies  of  Shake- 
speare than  from  direct  moral  teachings. 

It  is  perhaps  impossible  to  determine  from  his 
works,  how  far  he  had  a  distinct  moral  purpose. 
There  are  some  passages  which  indicate  that  it 
was  his  opinion  that  it  is  not  the  proper  function 
of  the  drama  to  teach  moral  lessons.  We  have, 
for  example,  in  Hamlet's  directions  to  the  players, 
the  statement  that  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  theatre 
"  to  hold  the  mirror  up  to  nature,  to  show  virtue 
her  own  feature,  scorn  her  own  image,  and  the 
very  age  and  body  of  the  time  his  form  and 
pressure." 1  But,  as  Professor  Dowden  has  said, 
"  The  mirror  has  no  tendency.  We  only  in- 
quire whether  the  mirror  reflects  objects  clearly 
and  faithfully."  Is  it  true  that  a  poet,  with 
the  highest  endowments  of  genius,  is  to  be  only 
a  mirror?  Is  that  the  purpose  of  the  highest 
life? 

~,  In  his  Lectures  on  Dramatic  Art  and  Litera- 
ture, Schlegel  has  said,  "  We  may  perceive  in 
Shakespeare  himself,  notwithstanding  his  power 
to  excite  the  most  fervent  emotions,  a  certain 
cool  indifference,  but  still  the  indifference  of  a 

1  Hamlet,  Act  iii.  Sc.  2. 


34°  SHAKESPEARE  AND    THE  PURITANS. 

superior  mind,  which  has  run  through  the  whole 
sphere  of  human  existence,  and  survived  feel- 
ing."1 Whether  we  accept  this  statement  or 
not,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  is  a  certain 
lack  in  Shakespeare  of  moral  earnestness,  of  en- 
thusiasm for  truth  and  duty.  This  is  what 
Schlegel  calls  the  "irony"  of  Shakespeare. 

It  is  not  certain  that  the  highest  art  is  without 
a  moral  purpose.  The  paintings  of  the  old  mas- 
ters, for  example,  are  many  of  them  representa- 
tions of  Biblical  scenes.  It  is  well  known  that 
these  paintings  were  intended  to  teach  moral  and 
religious  truth  to  the  people.  Raphael  painted 
his  finest  works  for  the  churches.  Who  will 
deny  that  a  large  part  of  the  works  of  art  that 
are  set  up  in  our  public  libraries,  and  legislative 
halls,  and  churches  are  intended  to  teach  lessons 
of  justice,  and  patriotism,  and  religion?  Art  is 
the  handmaid  of  religion. 

VII 

THIS  brings  us  to  the  inquiry,  whether  there\is 
a  religious  element  in  the  plays  of  Shakespeare. 
The  Puritans,  with  their  intense  convictions,  in- 
sisted that  religion  should  pervade  and  color  all 
literature,  and  their  opposition  to  the  drama  was 
based  upon  the  opinion  that  its  influence  was  not 

1  Schlegel's  Dramatic  Literature,  369. 


ROMANIST  OR  PROTESTANT.  341 

religious.  This  question  is  having  a  fresh  dis- 
cussion in  our  time,  and  it  is  likely  to  attract 
more  attention  in  the  future. 

The  question  has  been  much  debated  whether 
Shakespeare  was  a  Roman  Catholic  or  a  Protes- 
tant. It  is  certainly  surprising  that  there  should 
be  room  for  such  a  question  in  regard  to  one  of 
the  greatest  of  Englishmen,  who  lived  through 
the  time  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  No  such  ques- 
tion could  be  asked  in  respect  to  the  other  great 
men  of  his  time,  with  whom  we  are  accustomed 
to  compare  him. 

Very  different  statements  have  been  made  by 
Shakespearian  scholars  in  respect  to  the  religion 
of  the  great  dramatist.     An  article  has  recently  \  - 
been  published  in  Boston,  in  "The  New  World,"    \ 
on  "The  Absence  of  Religion  in  Shakespeare."1  / 
On  the  other  hand,  Richard  Grant  White  tells 
us,   with    a   singular    confusion    of    terms,    that 
"Shakespeare,  although  he  seems  to  have  been 
a  man  of  sincere    piety,  appears    to   have   been 
without  religious  convictions."2 

We  find  many  references  in  the  historical 
dramas  to  the  church  and  its  services,  and  to 
clergymen.  But  Shakespeare's  clergymen  are 
decidedly  worldly,  and  some  of  them  unscrupu- 
lous. He  does  not  give  us  any  pictures  of  sin- 

1  The  New  World,  December,  1896. 

2  White's  Shakespeare,  vol.  i.  p.  cxiii. 


34 2  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

cere  and  self-denying  pastors,  like  Chaucer's 
Clerke:  — 

"  That  was  a  poure  persone  of  a  towne, 
But  rich  he  was  of  holy  thought  and  work. 
Criste's  lore  and  his  apostles  twelve, 
He  taught,  but  first  he  folwed  it  himselve." 

Or  like  George  Herbert's  saintly  "  Priest  to  the 
temple,"  or  like  Longfellow's  faithful  monk, 

"  Who  saw  the  blessed  vision 
Of  our  Lord  with  light  Elysian, 
Like  a  vesture  wrapped  about  him, 
Like  a  garment  round  him  thrown." 

One  of  the  words  frequently  used  in  the  dramas 
is  music.  Shakespeare  had  a  poet's  sense  of  the 
charm  of  music  :  — 

"  Look  how  the  floor  of  heaven 
Is  thick  inlaid  with  patines  of  bright  gold ; 
There  's  not  the  smallest  orb  which  thou  behold'st 
But  in  his  motion  like  an  angel  sings, 
Still  quiring  to  the  young  ey'd  cherubins  : 
Such  harmony  is  in  immortal  souls."  l 

"  The  man  that  hath  no  music  in  himself, 
Nor  is  not  moved  with  concord  of  sweet  sounds, 
Is  fit  for  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils ; 
The  motions  of  his  spirit  are  dull  as  night, 
And  his  affections  dark  as  Erebus  : 
Let  no  such  man  be  trusted.     Mark  the  music." 2 

1  Merchant  of  Venice,  Act  v.  Sc.  I. 

2  Ibid. 


THE  BIBLICAL  QUOTATIONS.  343 

It  is  very  significant,  however,  that,  with  all 
these  eloquent  references  to  music,  Shakespeare 
never  refers  to  sacred  music.  Perhaps  he  did 
not  often  hear  it. 

Shakespeare  frequently  refers  to  the  Bible,  but 
never  in  any  way  of  special  significance,  as  Spen- 
ser, and  Milton,  and  Wordsworth,  and   -rue  Bible  in 
Longfellow,  and  Tennyson  do.     There    SM********- 
were  a  number   of   English  translations  of  the 
Bible    in    his  day.     A    large   proportion  of   the 
people  had    become  very  familiar  with  it.      Its 
language  entered  into  their  common  speech.     It 
was   quite   as   natural  for  writers  and   speakers 
to  quote  it,  as  it  is  to-day.     The  version  of  King 
James  was  hardly  in  common  use  while  Shake- 
speare was  writing  his  plays,  so   he  quotes  the 
Bishops'  Bible,  or  the  Genevan  version.     Thus 
we  read,  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice :  — 
"  The  quality  of  mercy  is  not  strain'd  : 
It  droppeth  as  the  gentle  rain  from  heaven 
Upon  the  place  beneath.     It  is  twice  bless'd ; 
It  blesseth  him  that  gives,  and  him  that  takes."  l 

In  Love's  Labor's  Lost  we  find:  — 

"  For  charity  itself  fulfils  the  law, 
And  who  can  sever  love  from  charity."  2 

And  in  Richard  III.:  — 

"  Charity  that  renders  good  for  bad,  blessings  for  curses."  « 
1  Act  iv.  Sc.  i.          2  Act  iv.  Sc.  3.          «  Act  i.  Sc.  2. 


344  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

In  the  same  tragedy:  — 

"  Rail  on  the  Lord's  Anointed."  1 

In  another  play :  — 

"  The  New  Heaven,  and  new  earth."  2 

Richard  II.  inquires:  — 

"  Did  they  not  sometimes  cry,  All  hail  to  me  ? 
So  Judas  did  to  Christ."  8 

In  Henry  VI.:- 

"  So  Judas  kissed  his  Master, 
And  cried,  '  All  hail ! '  when  he  meant  all  harm."  4 

In  another  part  we  read  :  — 

"  Now  by  the  death  of  Him  that  died  for  all."  5 

These  are  specimens  of  the  references  to  the 
words  of  the  Bible,  which  one  finds  not  infre- 
quently in  the  works  of  Shakespeare,  as  in  the 
other  English  literature  of  that  age.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  quote  them  all.  Bishop  Words- 
worth, in  his  well  known  book,  entitled  "  Shake- 
peare's  Knowledge  and  Use  of  the  Bible,"  has 
brought  out  a  large  number  of  such  references. 
They  are  not  very  significant.  They  do  not 
show  any  special  familiarity  with  religious  truth, 

1  Act  iv.  Sc.  2.      a  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  Act  i.  Sc.  i. 
8  Activ.  Sc.  i. 

4  Third  Part  of  King  Henry  VI.,  Act  v.  Sc.  7. 

5  Second  Part  of  King  Henry  VI.,  Act  i.  Sc.  I. 


NOT  AN  AGNOSTIC.  345 


or  any  lively  sympathy  with  it.  They  do  show 
that,  under  the  religious  teachings  of  the  Puritan 
age,  perhaps  in  his  early  home,  —  perhaps  in  that 
venerable  Trinity  Church  in  Stratford,  —  perhaps 
by  reading,  —  he  had  become  familiar  with  the 
more  striking  facts  of  sacred  history,  and  with  the 
general  teachings  of  the  Bible,  and  he  quoted 
it  as  literature. 

Shakespeare  was  not  an  Agnostic.  He  seems 
to  have  believed  in  God,  and  in  some  of  the 
other  truths  of  religion.  He  always  speaks  with 
reverence  of  our  Saviour.  In  the  First  Part  of 
King  Henry  IV.  the  king  says  :  — 

"  Therefore,  friends, 
As  far  as  to  the  sepulchre  of  Christ, 
Whose  soldier  now,  under  whose  blessed  cross 
We  are  impressed  and  engaged  to  fight, 
Forthwith  a  power  of  English  shall  we  levy 
To  chase  these  pagans  in  those  holy  fields 
Over  whose  acres  walk'd  those  blessed  feet 
Which  fourteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed, 
For  our  advantage,  on  the  bitter  cross."  * 

This  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  Crusade. 
The  dramatist  could  hardly  avoid  this  reference 
to  the  purpose  of  the  holy  war.  But  we  cannot 
conclude  that  we  have  in  this  speech  by  the 
King  an  expression  of  the  religious  sentiments 
of  the  author  of  the  play. 

1  First  Part  of  King  Henry  IV.,  Act  i.  Sc.  i. 


34-6  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

There  is  a  suggestion  of  immortality  in  Ham- 
let, not  indeed  as  the  assured  hope  of  man,  but 
rather  as  a  terror,  which  holds  one  back  from 
self-destruction :  — 

"  To  be,  or  not  to  be ;  that  is  the  question  :  — 
Whether  't  is  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 
The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune ; 
Or  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles, 
And  by  opposing  end  them  ?    To  die  :  to  sleep,  — 
No  more  :  and,  by  a  sleep  to  say  we  end 
The  heartache,  and  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
That  flesh  is  heir  to,  —  't  is  a  consummation 
Devoutly  to  be  wish'd.     To  die,  to  sleep  : 
To  sleep  !  perchance  to  dream  :  ay,  there  's  the  rub : 
For  in  that  sleep  of  death  what  dreams  may  come 
When  we  have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil, 
Must  give  us  pause.     There  's  the  respect 
That  makes  calamity  of  so  long  life : 
For  who  would  bear  the  whips  and  scorns  of  time, 
The  oppressor's  wrong,  the  proud  man's  contumely, 
The  pangs  of  despised  love,  the  law's  delay, 
The  insolence  of  office  and  the  spurns 
That  patient  merit  of  the  unworthy  takes 
When  he  himself  might  his  quietus  make 
With  a  bare  bodkin  ?     Who  would  these  fardels  bear 
To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 
But  that  the  dread  of  something  after  death,  — 
The  undiscovered  country,  from  whose  bourne 
No  traveller  returns,  —  puzzles  the  will, 
And  makes  us  rather  bear  those  ills  we  have, 
Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of."  l 

i  Act  iii.  Scene  i. 


THE   TEMPEST.  347 


This  is  one  among  a  number  of  passages  in 
which  suicide,  —  the  cowardly  crime,  —  is  dealt 
with  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate  that  for  the 
poet  himself  it  was  a  subject  of  frequent  thought, 

In  the  comedy  called  "  As  You  Like  It,"  one 
of  the  characters  says, 

"  All  the  world  's  a  stage, 
And  all  the  men  and  women  merely  players ; 
They  have  their  exits  and  their  entrances ; 
And  one  man  in  his  time  plays  many  parts,  — 

His  acts  being  seven  ages 

Last  scene  of  all, 

That  ends  this  strange  eventful  history, 

Is  second  childishness  and  mere  oblivion."  * 

It  is  said  by  some  recent  critics  that  the 
"  Tempest "  was  the  latest  of  the  plays  of  Shake- 
speare, and  that  Prospero,  the  magician,  stands 
for  the  great  dramatist  himself.  It  is  Prospero 
who  says :  — 

"  These  our  actors, 

As  I  foretold  you,  were  all  spirits,  and 
Are  melted  into  air,  into  thin  air : 
And,  like  the  baseless  fabric  of  this  vision, 
The  cloud-capped  towers,  the  gorgeous  palaces, 
The  solemn  temples,  the  great  globe  itself, 
Yea,  all  which  it  inherit,  shall  dissolve, 
And  like  this  insubstantial  pageant  faded, 
Leave  not  a  rack  behind.      We  are  such  stuff 
As  dreams  are  made  on  :  and  our  little  life 
Is  rounded  with  a  sleep"  2 

1  Act  ii.  Scene  7.  2  Act  iv.  Scene  I. 


34-8  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 


The  truth  is  Shakespeare  never  rises  into  the 
region  of  Christian  faith.  He  gives  no  pictures 
of  sublime,  self-sacrificing  goodness,  for  the  love 
of  Christ.  He  seems  to  have  no  confident  ex- 
pectation of  human  improvement.  He  never 
expresses  a  longing  for  spiritual  progress.  He 
never  rises  from  ethics  into  religion.  He  de- 
picts the  life  of  man  with  a  marvellous  insight 
into  human  motives  and  purposes,  but  he  does 
'•not  seem  to  know  whence  we  have  come,  or 
whither  we  are  going.  The  impression  one  gets, 
especially  from  the  later  dramas,  is  that  the  mean- 
ing of  life  in  this  world  was  still  an  enigma  to  him. 

Macbeth  says,  when  his  wife  is  dead,  and  con- 
science is  stinging  him,  and  troubles  are  closing 
about  him :  — 

"  To-morrow,  and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow, 
Creeps  in  this  petty  pace  from  day  to  day, 
To  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time  : 
And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools 
The  way  to  dusty  death.     Out,  out  brief  candle  I 
Life  's  but  a  walking  shadow  :  a  poor  player, 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage, 
And  then  is  heard  no  more  :  it  is  a  tale 
Told  by  an  idiot,  full  of  sound  and  fury, 
Signifying  nothing." 

"  I  'gin  to  be  a'  weary  of  the  sun, 
And  wish  th'  estate  o'  th'  world  were  now  undone. 
Ring  the  alarm  ;  blow  wind  !  come  wrack  ! 
At  least  we  '11  die  with  harness  on  our  back." 1 
1  Act  v.  Scene  5. 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE.  349 

There  is  sometimes  in  Shakespeare  a  recog- 
nition of  God's  providence  in  the  world.  Ham- 
let says : — 

"  There  's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will."  1 

Edgar  in  King  Lear  says :  — 

"  The  gods  are  just,  and  of  our  pleasant  vices 
Make  instruments  to  plague  us."  2 

Macbeth  says :  — 

"  Even  handed  justice 

Commends  the  ingredients  of  our  poisoned  chalice 
To  our  own  lips."8 

There  is  an  impressive  passage  in  King  Henry 
Fifth,  in  relation  to  his  bearing  after  the  victory 
of  Agincourt.  He  exclaims  :  — 

"  O  God,  thy  arm  was  here  : 
And  not  to  us,  but  to  thy  arm  alone, 
Ascribe  we  all !  " 

"Take  it,  God, 
For  it  is  none  but  thine  !  " 
"  Come,  go  we  in  procession  to  the  village  : 
And  be  it  death  proclaimed  through  our  host 
To  boast  of  this,  or  take  that  praise  from  God 
Which  is  his  only." 

"  Do  we  all  holy  rites  : 
Let  there  be  sung  Non  N  obis,  and  Te  Deum."  4 

1  Act  v.  Scene  2.  8  Act  i.  Scene  7. 

3  Act  v.  Scene  3.  *  Act  iv.  Scene  8. 


35°  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

This  recognition  of  Divine  aid  is  very  proper 
for  the  King:  and  yet  no  part  of  this  is  original 
with  Shakespeare.  He  has  simply  copied  the 
narrative,  as  he  often  does,  from  the  chronicles 
of  Holinshed,  where  we  may  still  read  it  almost 
word  for  word. 

Another  passage  is  in  King  Richard  Second. 
The  Bishop  of  Carlisle  says  :  — 

"  Many  a  time  hath  banished  Norfolk  fought 
For  Jesu  Christ  in  glorious  Christian  field, 
Streaming  the  ensign  of  the  Christian  cross 
Against  black  pagans,  Turks,  and  Saracens ; 
And,  toil'd  with  works  of  war,  retir'd  himself 
To  Italy  :  and  there  at  Venice  gave 
His  body  to  that  pleasant  country's  earth, 
And  his  pure  soul  unto  his  Captain  Christ, 
Under  whose  colors  he  had  fought  so  long."  l 

This  also  is  a  part  of  English  history.  It  is 
quite  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  a  Chris- 
tian bishop  in  that  century.  It  expresses  the 
spirit  of  war,  and  that  of  religion  also.  It 
cannot  be  quoted  as  an  indication  of  religious 
faith. 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  passage  bearing 
upon  the  religious  ideas  of  Shakespeare  is  con- 
tained in  one  of  his  sonnets.  It  is  the  more  sig- 
nificant because  it  is  in  a  poem  so  personal  as  a 
sonnet : — 

1  Act  iv.  Scene  I. 


HOPEFULNESS  OF  THE  EARLY  DRAMAS.  35  * 

"  Poor  soul,  the  centre  of  my  sinful  earth, 
Fool'd  by  these  rebel  powers  that  thee  array, 
Why  dost  thou  pine  within,  and  suffer  death, 
Painting  thy  outward  walls  so  costly  gay  ? 
Why  so  large  cost,  having  so  short  a  lease, 
Dost  thou  upon  thy  fading  mansion  spend  ? 
Shall  worms,  inheritors  of  this  excess, 
Eat  up  thy  charge?     Is  this  thy  body's  end? 
Then,  soul,  live  thou  upon  thy  servant's  loss, 
And  let  that  pine  to  aggravate  thy  store ; 
Buy  terms  divine,  in  selling  hours  of  dross ; 
Within  be  fed,  without  be  rich  no  more  : 
So  shalt  thou  feed  on  death,  that  feeds  on  man, 
And,  death  once  dead,  there 's  no  more  dying  then."  l 

This  sonnet  should  be  interpreted  by  the  other 
sonnets,  and  by  the  general  tenor  of  the  dra- 
matic works.  One  swallow  does  not  make  a  sum- 
mer, and  a  few  passages,  such  as  these  and  a  few 
others  that  might  be  quoted,  have  failed  to  change 
the  general  impression  that  one  gets  from  the 
works  of  Shakespeare,  that  he  fails  to  lead  those 
who  read  him  into  the  realm  of  the  spiritual  and 
the  eternal. 

The  earlier  dramas  of  Shakespeare  are  full  of 
the  youthful,  hopeful  spirit.  But  those  written 
after  his  fortieth  year  show  a  very  perceptible 
change.  We  know  too  little  of  his  life  during 
those  years  to  be  quite  sure  of  the  cause.  In 
respect  to  his  business  and  his  reputation  those 

1  Sonnet  cxlvi. 


35  2  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE  PURITANS. 

were  very  prosperous  years.  Some  have  thought 
that  the  death  of  his  only  son  and  heir  cast  a 
dark  shadow  on  his  life.  The  misfortunes  of  his 
friends  and  patrons,  Essex,  Southampton,  and 
Pembroke  changed  very  much  his  social  life  in 
London.  The  sonnets  are  full  of  suggestions  of 
some  mysterious  shadow  that  darkened  his  life. 
Some  of  the  most  intelligent  critics  believe  that 
many  of  the  sonnets  are  autobiographical.  Pro- 
fessor Dowden  says,  "The  friend  in  whose 
personality  Shakespeare  found  a  source  of  meas- 
ureless delight  —  high-born,  beautiful,  young,  ac- 
complished, ardent  —  wronged  himr  The  woman 
from  whom  Shakespeare  for  a  time  received  a  joy- 
ous quickening  of  his  life,  —  a  woman  of  stained 
character,  and  the  reverse  of  beautiful,  but  a 
strong  character,  —  a  lover  of  art,  and  possessed 
of  curious  magnetic  attraction,  —  with  her  dark 
eyes  which  illuminated  a  pale  face,  —  wronged  him 
also." l  It  is  of  this  dark  lady,  from  whom  per- 
haps he  drew  the  character  of  Cleopatra,  that 
Shakespeare  says:  — 

"  When  my  love  swears  that  she  is  made  of  truth, 
I  do  believe  her,  tho*  I  know  she  lies."  2 

The  cloud  passed  by  after  a  time,  and  Shake- 
speare regained  his  full  power,  with  a  profounder 
view  of  life  and  its  responsibilities.  One  observes 

1  Professor  Dowden,  354.  2  Sonnet  cxxxviii. 


ABSENCE  OF  FAITH.  353 


in  his  later  dramas  a  new  sense  of  the  mysterious 
power  of  evil,  which  sometimes  holds  the  will  in 
helpless  bondage,  Thus  the  King  in  Hamlet 

says : — 

"  What  form  of  prayer 

Can  serve  my  turn?     Forgive  me  my  foul  murder? 
That  cannot  be,  since  I  am  still  possess'd 
Of  those  effects  for  which  I  did  the  murder, 
My  crown,  mine  own  ambition,  and  my  queen. 
May  one  be  pardon'd  and  retain  the  offence  ?  " 
"  What  then  ?     What  rests  ? 
Try  what  repentance  can  :  what  can  it  not  ? 
Yet  what  can  it,  when  one  cannot  repent? 
O  wretched  state  !     O  bosom  black  as  death  ! 
O  limed  soul,  that,  struggling  to  be  free, 
Art  more  engaged  I"1 

Shakespeare  did  not  have  the  key  to  unlock 
these  profound  mysteries.  Wonderful  as  his 
powers  were,  he  deals  only  with  this  present  life. 
Here  is  the  limitation  of  his  universality.  As 
Scherer  has  said,  "  It  is  on  the  boundaries  of  the 
invisible  world  that  Shakespeare's  vision  fails." 
The  greatest  poets  of  the  world  have  certainly 
been  full  of  the  religious  spirit.  Homer  was  full 
of  it.  So  were  the  Greek  dramatists.  So  have 
been  the  great  poets  of  the  modern  world, — 
Dante,  Spenser,  Milton,  Wordsworth,  and  Tenny^ 
son.  But  Shakespeare  is  the  poet  of  the  secular, 
and  not  of  the  religious,  of  the  temporal,  and 
of  the  eternal. 

1  Hamlet,  Act  iii.  Sc.  3. 
23 


354  SHAKESPEARE  AND   THE   PURITANS. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  in  that  age 
of  conflict  there  was  a  lack  of  sympathy  between 
the  Puritans  and  Shakespeare.  They  represented 
an  intensely  religious  life.  They  lived,  as  Milton 
said,  "as  ever  in  the  great  Taskmaster's  eye." 
The  spiritual  was  far  more  than  the  temporal  to 
them.  The  reform  of  the  Church  seemed  to 
them  the  greatest  work  of  the  age.  Next  to  that, 
they  were  seeking  to  establish  the  rights  of  the 
people  on  a  secure  basis.  They  did  not  find 
Shakespeare  in  sympathy  with  the  ideas  which 
they  were  seeking  to  realize. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Puritans  seemed,  to 
men  like  Shakespeare,  to  be  narrow  and  bigoted. 
They  were  ready  to  fight  for  the  inheritance  of 
the  privileged  classes  against  the  rising  democ- 
racy. A  large  part  of  England  at  that  time  was 
with  Shakespeare.  A  larger  part  was  with  the 
Puritans.  It  was  not  until  the  questions  which 
were  then  at  issue  had  been  adjusted,  partly  by 
mutual  compromises,  and  partly  by  the  mellow- 
ing influence  of  many  years,  that  the  English 
speaking  race  of  all  parties  was  prepared  to 
enjoy  and  appreciate  that  wonderful  body  of  lit- 
erature that  is  our  common  inheritance  from  Sid- 
ney and  Spenser,  from  Bacon  and  Shakespeare, 
from  John  Milton  and  John  Bunyan. 


Index 


Index 


ABANDONMENT  OF  COMMUNISM,  34,  38. 

ABBOT,  ARCHBISHOP,  death  of,  120. 

ABUNDANCE  OF  PROVISIONS,  1623,  37 ;  Fine  Harvests,  39. 

AFFECTION  FOR  ENGLAND,  89-90. 

AGREEMENT  OF  THE  PILGRIMS  WITH  THE  CAPITALISTS,  6. 

ALIOT,  SIR  WILLIAM  DE,  209. 

ALLEN,  PROF.  A.  V.  G.,  QUOTED,  288. 

ANABAPTISTS,  82,  also  176. 

ANDROS,  SIR  EDMUND,' GOVERNOR  GENERAL,  190;  Revolution 
in  Massachusetts,  190. 

ANGLO-SAXON  COLONIES,  55. 

ANNUAL  ELECTIONS,  51. 

ANTINOMIAN  DISSENSION,  137,  141. 

ARABELLA,  THE  SHIP,  89. 

ARMINIANISM,  DEFINED,  288;  its  Arian  and  Socinian  elements, 
289 ;  preliminaries  to  conversion,  290 ;  loses  its  hold,  303 ; 
tends  to  Unitarianism,  305. 

ARMY  OF  CAPTAIN  STANDISH,  22. 

ARTILLERY  IMPORTED  BY  MASSACHUSETTS,  187. 

ARTISTIC  SPIRIT  OF  SHAKESPEARE,  334,  340. 

ASPINWALL,  WILLIAM,  Deacon,  96. 

AWAKENING,  THE  GREAT,  from  a  great  declension,  273  ;  religious 
life  of  the  early  Puritan  churches  ;  decline  of  piety  in  the  third 
generation,  274;  the  Reforming  Synod,  274;  its  testimony, 
275;  election  sermons  of  that  period,  275  ;  reasons  for  the 
declension;  the  second  generation,  276;  servants  and  their 
descendants,  277  ;  union  of  Church  and  State,  277  ;  Half  Way 
Covenant,  278  ;  Extreme  Calvinism,  278  ;  Fatalism,  279. 

AWAKENING,  THE  GREAT,  in  England,  298;  the  Wesleys  and 
Whitefield,  results  of  their  work,  298. 


INDEX. 


BALLOT,  VOTE  BY,  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  in. 

BANCROFT  ON  THE  MAYFLOWER  COMPACT,  12. 

BANKS  OF  NEWFOUNDLAND,  3. 

BAPTISM  OF  CHILDREN,  151. 

BAPTISTS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,  174;  laws  against  them,  174;  dis- 
franchised, and  banished,  175  ;  meetings  on  Noddle's  Island, 
175;  public  debate,  175;  a  Baptist  church  in  Boston,  176. 

BARNSTABLE,  53,  79. 

BATTLES  WITH  THE  INDIANS,  32,  143,  262. 

BELLAMY,  303. 

BIBLE  IN  SHAKESPEARE,  343. 

BIBLE,  TRANSLATED  INTO  THE  INDIAN  LANGUAGE,  249;  a  soli- 
tary translator,  250;  published  1661  and  1663,  251  ;  second 
edition  1680-1685,  251 ;  number  of  copies,  252 ;  cost  of  the  two ; 
number  of  copies  now  preserved,  252 ;  Indian  title  page,  253 
(note). 

BLACKSTONE,  WILLIAM,  309. 

BOSTON  SETTLED,  91  ;  Winthrop  settles  in,  91 ;  Church  of  Charles- 
town  removes  to  Boston.  97 ;  rapid  growth  of  the  settlement, 
108;  meeting-house  built,  with  parsonage,  109;  fortifies  the 
harbor,  122;  Commissioners  of  the  Confederacy  meet  in,  153. 

BOSTON  VISITED  BY  THE  PILGRIMS,  22 ;  also  33. 

BRADFORD,  Gov.  WILLIAM,  Reasons  for  going  to  America,  5 ; 
author  of  a  history,  19 ;  elected  Governor,  20 ;  speaks  of  the 
past  harvest,  24;  deals  with  hostile  Indians,  27 ;  Christmas  Day, 
29 ;  re-elected  Governor,  29 ;  the  patent  in  his  name,  49  ;  state- 
ment of  the  purpose  of  the  Colony,  206 ;  his  History  in  1898,  58. 

BRADSTREET,  SIMON,  89. 

BRANDES,  PROF.  GEORGE,  QUOTED,  330,  336. 

BREWSTER,  ELDER  WILLIAM,  26,  46. 

BRIGHT,  FRANCIS,  76 ;  returns  to  England,  93. 

BROOKE,  LORD,  101. 

BROWN,  SAMUEL  AND  JOHN,  81 ;  sent  to  England,  83. 

BULLEN,  ANNE,  333. 

CAMBRIDGE  PLATFORM,  the  standard  of  polity  for  New  England, 
1 60;  Church  and  State,  161. 

CAMBRIDGE  SYNOD,  156;  its  purpose;  occasion  for,  157;  Cotton 
and  Hooker  on  church  polity,  157;  churches  of  the  colony  in- 
vited to  send  delegates,  158;  churches  of  all  New  England 
desired  to  send,  159;  John  Cotton  moderator;  adjourned  to 
June  1647,  and  August,  1648. 


INDEX.  359 


CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY,  Higginson,  77 ;  Skelton,  77 ;  meeting 
at,  86 ;  Winthrop,  88  ;  agreement  to  go  to  New  England,  86. 

CANNON  AT  PLYMOUTH.  17. 

CAPE  ANN,  69. 

CARGO  OF  FURS  FOR  ENGLAND,  1623,  38. 

CATTLE  FROM  ENGLAND,  39;  1627,  145. 

CATTLE  FOR  MASSACHUSETTS,  90, 100. 

CHARLES  THE  FIRST,  66;  insisted  upon  his  prerogative,  66; 
levies  taxes  illegally,  66. 

CHARLES  THE  SECOND  BECOMES  KING,  165 ;  plans  to  send  a 
Governor  General,  165  :  the  King  proclaimed  in  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  Plymouth,  New  Haven,  and  Rhode  Island, 
166;  sends  the  Royal  Commissioners,  182. 

CHARLESTOWN,  70,  73  ;  Winthrop  at,  90  ;  dwellings  in,  91 ;  Church 
in,  96. 

CHARTER  FOR  MASSACHUSETTS,  71 ;  cost  of  it,  71  (note)  ;  provis- 
ions of  the  charter,  72  ;  powers  of  the  colonists,  72  ;  demanded 
by  the  Privy  Council,  121;  resistance  determined  upon,  123; 
refusal  to  give  up  the  charter,  124;  demanded  by  Charles  the 
Second;  Writ  of  Quo  Warranto,  188;  Court  of  Chancery 
cancels  the  charter,  189;  delay  in  setting  up  the  new  govern- 
ment ;  death  of  the  King,  189. 

CHARTER  FOR  PLYMOUTH  COLONY,  26 ;  new  charter,  49. 

CHATHAM,  LORD,  on  the  Historical  Plays  of  Shakespeare,  319. 

CHAUCER,  311  ;  The  Clerke's  Tale,  342. 

CHRISTIAN  COMMONWEALTH,  Eliot's,  216. 

CHRISTMAS,  FIRST  FOR  THE  PILGRIMS,  14;  Second,  29. 

CHURCH  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PURITANS,  64;  Reformed 
Churches,  64. 

CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND,  MEMBERS  OF,  89,  90,  98. 

CHURCHES  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  FIRST,  76,  80;  SECOND,  DOR- 
CHESTER, 94. 

CHURCHES  IN  NEW  ENGLAND  IN  1692,  192. 

CHURCHES,  INDIAN,  245  ;  delay  in  forming  them,  246;  caution  of 
Eliot,  247 ;  Church  at  Natick  1660,  247;  number  of  members, 
248;  Second  Indian  Church,  248. 

CHURCHES  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  DECLINING,  281 ;  testimony  of 
Bishop  Butler,  Addison,  281 ;  Montesquieu,  282. 

CLAP,  ROGER,  TELLS  OF  DORCHESTER  CHURCH,  95. 

CLARK'S  ISLAND,  LANDING  ON,  13. 

CLERGYMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND,  76. 

COCKENOE,  22O. 


360  INDEX. 


CODES  OF  LAWS,  149. 

COKE,  SIR  EDWARD,  65. 

COLLEGES  OF  THE  PURITANS,  200. 

COLONY  AT  PLYMOUTH,  25,  27. 

COLONY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  IN  1638,  125;  New  colonies  planted 
between  1634  and  1640  ;  causes  of  new  plantations,  125  ;  popu- 
lation in  1692,  191. 

COLONISTS  FROM  ENGLAND  IN  1631,  108;  in  1632,  109;  in  1633, 
no. 

COMMON  HOUSE,  14;  size  of;  lodging  place,  15. 

COMMON  LAW  IN  FORCE  IN  PLYMOUTH,  43. 

COMMONS,  THE,  103,  105. 

COMMONWEALTH  IN  ENGLAND,  163  ;  Commissioners  for  the  colo- 
nies; claims  of  Massachusetts;  ship  in  Boston  harbor,  163; 
claim  to  independence,  164;  Commonwealth  friendly  to  the 
colonies,  164. 

COMMUNISM  OF  THE  PILGRIMS,  6,  20,  34,  75? 

COMMUNITY  AT  NATICK,  241 ;  rulers  of  tens,  of  fifties,  of  hundreds  ; 
the  covenant,  242  ;  good  will  of  the  whites,  243  ;  fourteen  of 
these  communities,  244 ;  names  of  them,  245  (note) ;  number 
of  Indians,  245. 

COMPACT  AGREED  TO  ON  THE  MAYFLOWER,  10 ;   signatures  to, 

ii,49- 

CONFEDERATION  OF  THE  COLONIES,  146 ;  proposed  by  Connecti- 
cut; number  of  colonies;  the  first  meeting,  146;  number  of 
commissioners,  147  ;  powers  of  the  commissioners,  147  ;  popu- 
lation of  the  four  colonies ;  influence  of  the  Confederation  ; 
number  of  towns  in  the  colonies,  148  ;  first  meeting  in  Boston, 
153  ;  second  meeting  in  Hartford,  155. 

CONNECTICUT,  PETITION  OF  HOOKER  AND  OTHERS  TO  REMOVE 
TO  CONNECTICUT,  130;  reasons  for  their  petition,  130;  demo- 
cratic ideas  of  Hooker;  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  131; 
the  request  granted  in  1635  ;  Commissioners  chosen  to  govern 
the  colony,  131  ;  the  first  company  of  emigrants,  132;  the  sec- 
ond company,  132;  their  ministers,  132;  receives  a  royal  char- 
ter, 166;  New  Haven  added  to  Connecticut;  remonstrance  of 
New  Haven,  167  ;  population  in,  191  ;  new  towns  formed, 
196. 

CONSENT  OF  THE  GOVERNED,  the  basis  of  government,  n,  65. 

CONSULTATIONS  ABOUT  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  A  CHURCH,  78, 
79;  a  Reformed  congregation,  80. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  ENGLAND  FOR  INDIAN  MISSIONS,   234; 


INDEX. 


36 


poverty  of  the  people  in  Massachusetts;  pamphlets  on  the  mis- 
sions, 234 ;  money  sent  to  America,  236. 

CORN  PLANTED  UNDER  TEACHING  OF  TlSQUANTUM,  19. 

COTTON,  JOHN,  SETTLES  IN  BOSTON,  no;  Way  of  the  churches, 
84  (note)  ;  preaches  election  sermon,  no;  his  Keys  of  the 
Kingdom,  147. 

COUNCIL  FOR  NEW  ENGLAND,  70. 

COURT  OF  ASSISTANTS,  93  ;  permanent  membership,  103;  monthly 
meetings,  104. 

COURT  OF  HIGH  COMMISSION,  67 ;  imprisons  the  Non-Conformists, 
67. 

COURTS  OF  JUSTICE,  149. 

COVENANT  AT  SALEM,  81  ;  Charlestown,  97  ;  Watertown,  97. 

COVENANT  OF  WORKS,  138. 

CRADOCK,  GOVERNOR,  85  ;  resigns,  87;  ordered  to  produce  the 
charter,  120. 

CRANMER,  ARCHBISHOP,  332. 

CROMWELL,  OLIVER,  THREE  HUNDREDTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF, 
vii. ;  proposed  to  transfer  the  colonists,  165  ;  proposals  de- 
clined, 165  ;  aids  the  Indian  missions,  235. 

CUTSHAMAKIM,  229. 

DAVENPORT,  JOHN,  PERSONAL  HISTORY,  135  ;  his  learning,  135 ; 
harbors  the  Regicides,  181  ;  his  sermon,  182. 

DEBTS  OF  THE  COLONY,  26,  41,  45,  56. 

DEFENCES  AT  PLYMOUTH,  28,  34. 

DEFENCES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  PUT  IN  ORDER,  186. 

DELAWARE,  GOVERNOR  OF,  154. 

DEMOCRACY  AT  PLYMOUTH,  42  ;  at  Boston,  100. 

DIFFICULTIES  OF  THE  COLONISTS  WITH  CHARLES  THE  SECOND, 
187  ;  the  King  unfriendly  to  popular  institutions,  188. 

DISCOVERY,  THE  SHIP,  VISITS  PLYMOUTH,  34. 

DISSENTERS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,  118. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  LAND,  34. 

DIVISION  OF  LAND,  39 ;  number  of  lots,  41. 

DOMESTIC  ANIMALS,  50. 

DORCHESTER  ADVENTURERS,  69,  70. 

DORCHESTER  SETTLED,  91  ;  church  formed,  94  ;  some  of  the  peo- 
ple remove  to  Connecticut,  132. 

DOWDEN  QUOTED,  339,  352. 

DRESS  OF  THE  PURITANS,  152;  of  ministers,  152;  of  the  Pilgrims, 
44. 


362  INDEX. 


DUDLEY,  THOMAS,  86;  character  of,  89;  dwelling,  92  ;  Commis- 

sioner,  153  ;  Governor,  163. 
DUXBURY,  49,  53. 

DWELLINGS  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  43,  151. 
DWIGHT,  PRESIDENT,  303. 
DYER,  MARY,  PUT  TO  DEATH  AS  A  QUAKER,  172. 

EARLIEST  PROTESTANT  MISSIONS,  221,  224. 

EATON,  SAMUEL,  135. 

EATON,  THEOPHILUS,  86;  life  of,  89;  founder  of  New  Haven, 
135;  Governor  of  the  Colony,  137;  Commissioner,  1643,  J53' 

ECCLESIASTICAL  PLANS  OF  THE  PURITANS,  78;  not  Separatists, 
78 ;  Reformed  Churches  of  Europe,  79 ;  Reformed  congrega- 
tion, 80;  like  Pilgrim  Church,  83  ;  Non-Conformists,  84. 

EDUCATION  OF  THE  PILGRIMS,  44. 

^.EDWARDS,  JONATHAN,  his  parents,  283 ;  date  of  his  birth,  child- 
hood, 283  ;  enters  Yale  College ;  begins  to  preach  ;  ordained, 
283  ;  metaphysical  qualities,  284 ;  religious  experiences,  284 ; 
strong  affections,  imagination,  poetic  sensibility,  285  ;  his  com- 
munion with  God,  286  ;  account  of  Sarah  Pierrepont,  286 ;  his 
nearness  to  the  spiritual  world,  287  ;  the  personal  appearance 
of  Mr.  Edwards,  287;  manner  of  speaking;  power  over  an 
audience,  288;  condition  of  his  parish,  289;  dependence  on 
the  "means  of  grace,"  289;  Half  Way  Covenant,  290;  low 
state  of  morals,  290 ;  lack  of  family  government,  291  ;  his  ser- 
mons on  Justification  by  Faith,  291  ;  effect  of  the  sermons,  292 ; 
conversions,  292  ;  elements  in  his  preaching ;  his  Calvinism  ; 
modifications  of  the  old  Calvinism,  293  ;  the  Edwardean  sys- 
tem, 292 ;  spread  of  the  revival,  293  ;  results  in  Northampton, 
294 ;  includes  the  children,  294  ;  extension  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  294;  and  in  New  England,  295;  revivals  in  many 
places  from  year  to  year,  295  ;  the  preaching  of  Edwards  as 
an  evangelist,  296  ;  the  sermon  at  Enfield  ;  results,  297;  titles 
of  his  sermons,  297  ;  the  doctrine  of  the  Love  of  God,  298 ; 
coming  of  George  Whitefield,  299  ;  preaches  in  Northampton, 
300 ;  influence  upon  the  work,  300 ;  results  of  the  Great 
Awakening,  301  ;  qualifications  for  Communion,  302  ;  Church 
and  State,  theological  changes,  303;  Edwardean  theology, 
303  ;  old  Calvinists  ;  Methodist  Church,  304  ;  missionary  so- 
cieties, two  wings  of  the  Puritan  Churches,  305. 

EDWARDS,  JONATHAN,  THE  YOUNGER,  303. 

EDWARDS,  TIMOTHY,  283. 


INDEX.  363 


ELIOT,  JOHN,  209;  birthplace,  his  father,  210;  baptism,  211;*^ 
childhood,  211  ;  graduation  at  Jesus  College,  212;  scholarship, 
212;  usher  at  Little  Baddow,  212;  influence  of  Thomas 
Hooker,  213;  goes  to  New  England,  213;  preaches  in  Boston ; 
settles  in  Roxbury,  215;  marriage,  his  ministry  in  Roxbury; 
political  principles,  215;  his  Christian  Commonwealth,  216; 
retracts  parts  of  the  book;  a  devoted  minister,  216;  his 
theology,  217;  fondness  for  Hebrew,  217;  facetiousness, 
217;  wit,  218;  interest  in  schools,  218;  Cotton  Mather's 
statement,  218;  learns  the  Indian  language,  218;  motive 
of  his  missionary  work,  218;  his  teachers;  Cockenoe,  Job 
Nesutan,  220;  methods  of  study,  219,  221  ;  Indian  languages, 
220 ;  preaches  at  Nonantum,  222,  223  ;  his  companions,  223 ; 
narrative  of  the  services,  223 ;  the  second  meeting,  227 ; 
preaching  in  other  places,  228  ;  results  of  the  work,  230 ; 
civilization,  231;  an  Indian  town,  232;  secures  contribu- 
tions from  England,  234  ;  his  salary,  234 ;  plea  for  help  to 
his  missions,  235  ;  his  foot-bridge,  239,  242  ;  translation  of  the 
Bible,  250,  252;  ride  to  Brookfield,  256;  exposure,  257; 
success  of  this  excursion,  258 ;  missionary  journals,  258  ; 
numbers  in  Churches,  258 ;  effect  of  King  Philip's  War,  262 ; 
resumes  his  missionary  work  after  the  war,  266 ;  reasons  why 
it  was  not  of  larger  success;  fidelity  of  the  missionary,  267  ;  his 
old  age,  268 ;  publishes  books,  268 ;  his  last  words,  death,  his 
burial  place,  269;  his  children;  list  of  his  publications,  269; 
inscription  on  his  tomb,  270. 

ELIOT,  SIR  JOHN,  68,  210. 

ELLIOT,  ELLSWORTH,  DR.,  210  (note). 

EMIGRATION  TO  NEW  ENGLAND  ON  A  GREAT  SCALE,  87 ;  char- 
acter of  the  emigrants,  88 ;  number,  90. 

ENDICOTT,  JOHN,  70;  letters  to,  74;  proposal  for  an  independent 
church,  79,  83  ;  present  at  Natick,  242. 

ENFIELD  SERMON,  296  ;  not  a  specimen  of  the  ordinary  preaching 
of  Edwards;  the  condition  of  that  congregation;  the  subject 
of  the  sermon ;  effect  of  the  discourse,  297. 

ENGLISH  BLOOD  OF  THE  COLONISTS,  192. 

ENTERPRISE  OF  THE  PILGRIMS,  56. 

EXPEDITIONS  TO  BOSTON  HARBOR,  22,  23. 

EXPEDITIONS  TO  MASSASOIT,  21. 

FAITH  IN  THE  SPIRITUAL,  NOT  IN  SHAKESPEARE,  348. 
FAMINE  AT  PLYMOUTH,  36. 


364  INDEX. 


FATALISM,  IN  THE  PULPIT,  280. 

FEDERAL  COMMISSIONERS  MEET  AT  HARTFORD,  1667,  155. 

FIRST  SETTLEMENT  IN  MAINE,  3;  198. 

FISHING  AND  HUNTING,  24,  45. 

FISKE,  JOHN,  QUOTED,  135. 

FOOD  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  151,  152. 

FOREFATHERS,  OR  PILGRIMS,  37;  numbers  of,  52. 

FORTIFICATIONS  AT  PLYMOUTH,  28,  30 ;  fort  on  the  hill,  34. 

FORTUNE,  THE,  ARRIVES,  25 ;  returns  to  England,  26. 

FREEMAN'S  MEETING,  113. 

FREEMEN,  APPLICATIONS  TO  BECOME,  102;  powers  of  freemen 
lessened,  102  ;  admission  of  116  persons,  103  ;  limited  to  mem- 
bers of  churches,  103. 

FRENCH  OF  CANADA,  155. 

FULLER,  SAMUEL,  Physician,  48  ;  goes  to  Salem,  79;  death  of,  48. 

FURNITURE  OF  PILGRIMS,  48. 

GAGER,  WILLIAM,  Physician,  94;  Deacon,  96,  99. 

GAME,  WILD  AT  PLYMOUTH,  24. 

GENERAL  COURT  OF  PLYMOUTH  COLONY,  50. 

GENERAL  COURT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  101 ;  first  session,  101 ;  no 

representation    of  the    people,    102 ;    annual  sessions,    103  ; 

Governor  and  Assistants   chosen  by,  104;  later  it   included 

delegates  from  towns,  no;  powers  of  legislation,  no. 
GENERAL  COURT  REQUIRES  PREACHING  TO  THE  INDIANS,  208. 
GENERAL   LAWS   PUBLISHED,  195;  their  provisions,  195;   rights 

of  the  people,  196. 
GENEVA  BIBLE,  44,  48. 
GOATS  IN  PLYMOUTH,  39. 
GOFFE,  THOMAS,  87. 
GOOKIN,  DANIEL,  223 ;  goes  to  Nonantum,  228 ;  superintendent  of 

Indian  towns,  243;  his  powers;  visits  the  towns  in  1673  and 

1674,  244;    number  of  praying   Indians,  245;  towns  among 

them,  258. 

GOVERNOR  CARVER,  ELECTION  OF,  12,  18  ;  death  of,  20. 
GRAMMAR  SCHOOLS  IN  ENGLAND,  310,  316. 
GREATER  NEW  ENGLAND,  200. 
GRIST  MILL,  50. 

HABITS  OF  LIFE  AT  PLYMOUTH,  45. 

HALF  WAY  COVENANT,  ITS  EFFECTS,  278 ;  abandonment,  as  the 
result  of  the  revival,  302. 


INDEX.  365 


HAMPDEN,  JOHN,  30. 

HARVARD,  JOHN,  FOUNDER  OF  HARVARD  COLLEGE,  116. 

HARVARD  COLLEGE,  115;  tax  towards  its  establishment,  116; 
located  by  General  Court ;  name  of  town  changed ;  its  bene- 
factor, 116  ;  contributions  for,  155. 

HARVEST,  THE  FIRST,  AT  PLYMOUTH,  23 ;  the  second,  34;  third,  39. 

HATHAWAY,  ANNE,  WIFE  OF  SHAKESPEARE,  317. 

HEMANS,  MRS.,  13. 

HERBERT,  GEORGE,  THE  PRIEST  TO  THE  TEMPLE,  342. 

HIGGINSON,  FRANCIS,  73  ;  writes  to  England,  76;  his  life,  77; 
consults  about  a  church,  79  ;  ordained,  80. 

HISTORIC  EPISCOPATE,  79. 

HOOKER,  THOMAS,  no;  minister  at  Newtown ;  asks  permission 
to  remove  to  Connecticut,  130;  memorable  letter  to  Winthrop, 
131;  leads  the  colony  to  the  Connecticut,  132;  sermon  to  the 
General  Court,  133  ;  his  *•  Survey,"  157. 

HOPKINS,  EDWARD,  COMMISSIONER,  1643,  I53- 

HOPKINS,  STEPHEN,  21,  30. 

HOSPITAL  AT  PLYMOUTH,  15. 

HOUSE  OF  CORRECTION  IN  BOSTON,  109. 

HOUSES  ERECTED  AT  PLYMOUTH,  14,  l6,  25,  43. 

HUME  QUOTED,  322. 

HUTCHINSON,  MRS.  ANNE,  in  Boston,  137 ;  described  by  Winthrop ; 
holds  meetings  for  women,  137;  inner  light,  138;  criticised 
the  ministers  ;  covenant  of  works,  138  ;  approved  by  Governor 
Vane  and  John  Cotton,  139;  the  Synod;  its  moderators;  its 
decisions,  139;  trial  of  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  139;  banishment, 
140 ;  removes  to  Rhode  Island,  140. 

HUTCHINSON  QUOTED,  78. 

INDIAN  CHILDREN  TAUGHT  FREE  IN  THE  SCHOOLS,  115. 

INDIAN  CONSPIRACY,  31  ;  dealing  with  it,  32. 

INDIAN  POLICY  AT  PLYMOUTH;  conciliatory,  16;  neighborly, 
21 ;  enterprising,  22;  fearless,  27;  just,  30;  vigilant,  32; 
honest,  56. 

INDIAN  POLICY  OF  THE  PURITANS,  74,  105  ;  justice  and  kindness 
of  the  colonists,  106 ;  prnishment  of  those  who  did  them 
wrong;  purchase  of  land  from  the  Indians,  107;  fewness  of 
the  Indians,  106 ;  care  of  sick  Indians ;  hospitality  to  the 
chiefs,  1 08. 

INDIANS,  DESIRE  FOR  THEIR  CONVERSION,  5. 

INDIANS  IN   FRIENDLY  RELATIONS  WITH   THE  WHITES,  207; 


366 


INDEX. 


influence     of    the    English,    208 ;    ministers    learning    their 

language,  208. 
INTELLIGENCE  OF  THE  PURITANS,  309;  readers  and  thinkers;. 

with  a  learned  ministry,  309  ;  their  libraries,  310  ;  desire  for 

education,  311. 
ISAAC  DE  RASIERES'S  ACCOUNT  OF  PLYMOUTH,  40. 

JACKSON,  EDWARD,  228. 

JAMES  THE  FIRST,  65 ;  claimed  autocratic  power,  66. 

JAMES  THE  SECOND  PROCLAIMED  KING  IN  BOSTON,  1685,  189. 

JEFFERSON  QUOTED,  112. 

JOHNSON,  ISAAC,  86;  also  89  ;  settles  in  Boston,  death  of,  92. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE,  104. 

KING  PHILIP'S  WAR  FOLLOWED  A  LONG  INTERVAL  OF  PEACE, 
179;  causes  of  the  war,  180;  character  of  Philip  ;  cruelties  of 
the  savages  ;  losses  of  the  colonists,  181 ;  contributions  from" 
Ireland,  181. 

LAND,  OWNERSHIP  OF,  75  ;  do  not  adopt  English  land  tenure,  100. 

LANDS  OF  THE  INDIANS,  74. 

LANGUAGE  OF  THE  INDIANS,  220. 

LAUD,  BISHOP  OF  LONDON,  67;  Archbishop  of  England,  120. 

LAWS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  OVER  THE  INDIAN  TOWNS,  243 ;  Major 

Gookin,  superintendent,  243. 

LAWS  OF  PLYMOUTH  COLONY,  18,  30,  50;  revised,  51. 
LAWS  TO  ENCOURAGE  PREACHING  TO  INDIANS,  2O7,  2O8. 
LIBRARIES  AT  PLYMOUTH,  43,  44. 
LIQUOR  LAW  OF  PLYMOUTH,  50. 
LONGFELLOW,  343. 

LONG  PARLIAMENT,  144  ;  end  of  emigration  to  this  country,  145. 
LOWELL,  JAMES  RUSSELL,  QUOTED,  337. 
LUCY,  SIR  THOMAS,  318. 

MAGISTRATES,  104. 

MAINE,    EARLY   SETTLERS  IN,    198 ;   under  the  government  of 

Massachusetts,  164,  184. 
MARKET  IN  BOSTON,  109. 
MARRIAGE,  THE  FIRST,  20. 
MARSHFIELD,  53. 
MASSACHUSETTS  DECIDES  TO    DEFEND    ITS   CHARTER  ;    erects 

fortifications,  122. 


INDEX.  367 


MASSACHUSETTS,  NEW  TOWNS  IN,  197. 

MASSACHUSETTS  PEOPLE  OVERFLOWED  INTO  PLYMOUTH,  53. 

MASSACHUSETTS  TRIBE  OF  INDIANS,  23,  208. 

MASSASOIT  AT  PLYMOUTH,  17  ;  at  his  home,  21 ;  his  sickness,  30. 

MASON,  CAPT.  JOHN,  LEADS  AN  ARMY  AGAINST  THE  PEQUOTS,  142. 

MASTS  FOR  THE  ROYAL  NAVY,  186. 

MATHER,  COTTON,  77;  QUOTED,  218. 

MATHER,  INCREASE,  ELECTION  SERMON,  275. 

MATHER,  RICHARD,  MODERATOR  CAMBRIDGE  SYNOD,  159;  at 
Nonantum,  228. 

MAYFLOWER,  VOYAGE  OF,  8-9,  13  ;  carries  the  Puritans,  73. 

MAYHEW,  THOMAS,  208;  his  work  for  the  Indians,  209;  growth 
of  his  missions,  253. 

MEETING-HOUSE  AT  PLYMOUTH,  38. 

MERCHANTS  IN  BOSTON,  99. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  INFLUENCE  OF,  UPON  PREACH- 
ING, 304. 

MIANTONOMO,  154;  taken  prisoner;  put  to  death  by  the  Indians,  154. 

MILTON,  JOHN,  his  education,  313;  his  Puritanism,  literary  leader 
of  the  Puritans,  314;  blindness,  contrast  with  Shakespeare, 
331 ;  religious  spirit,  351. 

MINISTERS  AT  PLYMOUTH,  John  Lyford,  46,  69;  goes  to  Vir- 
ginia, 71;  Ralph  Smith,  47;  lands  at  Salem,  73;  Roger 
Williams,  47  ;  John  Norton,  47 ;  John  Reynor,  47  ;  Charles 
Chauncy,  47. 

MINISTERS,  SUPPORT  OF,  93;  voluntary  principle,  116;  Boston, 
117;  taxes  for  their  support,  1 1 8  ;  asked  to  advise  the  General 
Court,  123;  influence  of,  in  1692,  194;  education;  publica- 
tions, 194;  their  duties,  152;  gown  and  bands,  152. 

MINT  ESTABLISHED  1652;  pine  tree  shillings,  165. 

MISSIONARY  SPIRIT  OF  THE  PURITANS,  205  ;  Bradford's  state- 
ment of  the  purpose  of  the  Pilgrim  Colony,  206;  teaching  the 
Indians,  206  ;  Seal  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts,  206. 

MISSIONS  TO  THE  INDIANS,  5  ;  Roger  Williams,  161  ;  Thomas 
Mayhew,  162,  259;  John  Eliot,  222;  visits  the  Indian  wig- 
wams, 223;  his  discourse,  224;  the  ten  commandments,  225  ; 
the  Great  Salvation,  225  ;  effect  of  his  address,  226 ;  questions 
and  answers,  227 ;  the  second  meeting ;  catechism,  227 ; 
questions  by  the  Indians,  228;  prayer  in  the  Indian  tongue; 
genuine  religious  work,  229;  efforts  to  civilize  the  Indians,  231 ; 
Indian  laws,  231;  tools  provided,  231;  Indians  before  the 
Cambridge  Synod,  233;  plea  for  help,  235;  translation  of  the 


368 


INDEX. 


Bible,  250,  253 ;  progress  of  the  missions,  253  ;  progress  to 
1675,  256. 

MOHEGANS,   153. 

MORTALITY  IN  PLYMOUTH  THE  FIRST  WINTER,  15. 
MUMFORD,  HANNAH,  WIFE  OF  THE  APOSTLE  ELIOT,  215. 
Music  IN  SHAKESPEARE,  342. 

NARRAGANSETTS  AND  MOHEGANS,  153,  254;  opposition  of  the 
sachems,  254 ;  threatening  words,  Eliot's  reply,  254 ;  peril  of 
the  missionary,  255  ;  sends  two  young  preachers,  255. 

NARRATIVE  OF  SURPRISING  CONVERSIONS,  published  in  Great 
Britain  and  New  England,  294. 

NASHAWAY,  229. 

NASING,  211 ;  Puritan  families,  212. 

NATICK,  SETTLEMENT  AT,  237 ;  plans  for  the  town,  238 ;  title  to 
the  lands,  239 ;  Eliot's  foot-bridge,  339 ;  streets ;  building-lots, 
the  stockade ;  common  house,  240 ;  school-room ;  meeting- 
house, 240  ;  organization  of  the  Indian  community,  241 ;  ap- 
pearance of  the  village,  242. 

NAUMKEAG,  69. 

NEPONSET,  PREACHING  BY  ELIOT,  229. 

NESUTAN,  JOB,  Interpreter,  220. 

NEW  AMSTERDAM,  155. 

NEW  ENGLAND  ;  people  of  second  and  third  generations,  193 ; 
"  Wonder  Working  Providence,"  193;  spirit  of  the  people,  194; 
condition  in  1692  ;  population,  191  ;  occupations  of  the  people, 
192. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  NEW  SETTLEMENTS,  198. 

NEW  HAVEN  FOUNDED,  135;  its  leaders;  the  minister;  the  first 
Sabbath,  135,  civil  compact;  General  Court,  136;  purchase 
of  land  from  the  Indians,  136;  the  first  church  and  its  meeting- 
house, 136. 

NEWTOWN,  SETTLEMENT  OF,  108;  plan  to  make  it  the  capital, 
108;  Thomas  Hooker  with'  a  party  removes  to  Connecticut, 
131- 

NEW  YEAR  AT  PLYMOUTH,  18. 

NONANTUM,  LOCATION,  223  (note);  meaning  of  the  name,  232; 
the  Indian  town,  testimony  of  Mr.  Shepard,  232. 

NON-CONFORMISTS,  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  PIONEERS,  98. 

NORTH  AMERICA  WELL  KNOWN  IN  EUROPE  BEFORE  IT  WAS 

SETTLED,  3. 

NORTHAMPTON,  280;  number  of  families,  290. 


INDEX.  369 


NORTHEND,  W.  D.,  ON  THE  LOGIC  OF  MINISTERS,  153. 

NUMBERS  WHO  CAME  FROM  ENGLAND,  145  ;  cost,  145. 

OLD  CALVINISTS,  303. 
OLD  COLONY  TERRITORY  ;  population,  49. 
ORCHARDS,  50. 

/ORDINATION  OF  PASTORS,  77,  80;  ruling  elders,  81* 
ORGANIZATION  OF  CHURCHES;  Salem,  80;  Dorchester  in  Eng- 
land, 94  ;  Charlestown,  96 ;  Watertown,  97 ;  Boston,  97. 

PARK,  PROF.  EDWARDS  A.,  303. 

PARTRIDGE,  RALPH,  TO  PREPARE  MODEL  OF  CHURCH  GOVERN- 
MENT, 159. 

PASSIVE  OBEDIENCE  PREACHED  IN  ENGLAND,  66. 

PATRIOTISM  OF  SHAKESPEARE,  335. 

PAWTUCKET,  229. 

PEQUOT  WAR  ;  causes  of  the  war ;  extension  of  the  settlements, 
141 ;  murder  of  John  Oldham,  142 ;  expedition  of  Endicott ; 
attacks  upon  the  settlements ;  expedition  of  Captain  Mason  ; 
destruction  of  the  Indians,  143. 

PEREGRINE  WHITE,  21. 

PETERS,  HUGH,  statements  as  to  the  condition  of  New  England, 
275. 

PETITION  OF  RIGHT,  66. 

PHILIP,  KING,  REFUSES  THE  INVITATION  OF  MR.  ELIOT,  256;  his 
part  in  the  war,  262. 

PHILIPS,  GEORGE,  91 ;  salary  of,  94. 

PILGRIM  REPUBLIC,  29. 

PILGRIMS  IN  ENGLAND^;  in  Holland,  4;  loyal  to  England,  5; 
poverty  of,  5  ;  mission  of,  4  ;  only  the  younger  go  to  America, 
6 ;  republic,  29 ;  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  influence  each  other, 
54,  58  ;  led  the  way  for  the  Puritans,  63. 

PLAGUE  CARRIES  OFF  THE  INDIANS,  18. 

PLYMOUTH  ANNEXED  TO  MASSACHUSETTS,  54. 

PLYMOUTH  ROCK,  landing  on,  13,  14. 

POPULATION  OF  NEW  ENGLAND  IN  1643,  147;  1692,  191. 

PORMONT,  PHILEMON,  TEACHER,  114. 

PRAYERS  ANSWERED,  35. 

PREACHERS,  INDIAN,  244;  their  training,  248. 

PRINCE,  THOMAS,  TESTIMONY  AS  TO  A  DECLINE  OF  PIETY,  274. 

PRIVY  COUNCIL  PROCEEDS  AGAINST  THE  CHARTER,  124. 

PROFANITY  FORBIDDEN,  51. 

24 


37°  INDEX. 


PROTESTANT  MISSIONS,  221. 

PROVINCETOWN,  LANDING  AT,  12. 

PROVINCIAL  CHARTER,  190;  its  provisions,  191. 

PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  189. 

PROVISION  FOR  MINISTERS,  93. 

PROVISIONS  FOR  THE  COLONY,  90. 

PRUDEN,  PETER,  135. 

PUBLIC  OPINION  IN  MASSACHUSETTS  FOR  THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE 
PEOPLE,  104. 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  PILGRIMS,  44. 

PURITANS  IN  ENGLAND,  63 ;  the  French  Ambassador,  63 ;  the 
House  of  Commons,  64:  advanced  Protestants,  64;  friends  of 
freedom,  65 ;  divided,  67  ;  prepare  to  go  to  America,  68  ;  from 
the  middle  classes,  64 ;  settled  in  the  old  Colony,  53  ;  exodus 
to  the  West,  199;  to  New  York,  199;  Wyoming  Valley;  Ohio, 
New  Connecticut,  199 ;  the  Western  States,  200 ;  Pacific 
States,  colleges,  200. 

PURITANS  IN  THE  TIME  OF  SHAKESPEARE,  321 ;  defenders  of  the 
rights  of  the  people ;  asked  for  reform  in  the  Church,  321 ; 
their  services  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  322. 

PYNCHON,  WILLIAM,  86 ;  settled  in  Roxbury,  91 ;  removes  to 
Springfield,  132,  309. 

QUAKERS,  THEIR  HISTORY,  168 ;  persecuted  in  England,  169; 
Quakers  in  Plymouth,  52;  enter  Massachusetts,  169;  sent  out 
of  the  Colony,  170;  all  the  Colonies  adopt  measures  to  exclude 
Quakers;  severe  measures  of  the  Colonies,  170,  171 ;  four  were 
put  to  death  ;  reaction  against  the  law,  173  ;  foolish  actions  of 
the  Quakers,  173;  repeal  of  the  law,  173. 

RATTLESNAKE  SKIN,  27. 

REASONS  FOR  THE  COMPACT  IN  THE  MAYFLOWER,  9. 

REASONS  FOR  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  PLYMOUTH,  4. 

RECORDS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  COMPANY,  72. 

REINFORCEMENTS  FOR  THE  COLONY  AT  PLYMOUTH,  25,  36. 

REFORMATION,  THE   PROTESTANT,  IGNORED  IN  THE  PLAY  OF 

HENRY  THE  EIGHTH,  332. 
REFORMING  SYNOD;  occasion  of  calling  it;   its  testimony,  274; 

the  decline  checked  for  a  time,  230. 
RELIGIOUS  SERVICES  AT  PLYMOUTH,  17. 
RELIGIOUS  SPIRIT  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  76. 
RELIGIOUS  TEST  FOR  VOTERS  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  103. 


INDEX.  37 l 


RENAISSANCE,  THE,  311. 

REPUBLIC  AT  PLYMOUTH,  29. 

REVOLT  AGAINST  CHARLES  THE  FIRST  IN  ENGLAND,  123. 

RHODE  ISLAND  FOUNDED  BY  ROGER  WILLIAMS,  128;  compact 

of  the  colony,  129;  the  settlement  on  the  island,  130;  receives 

a  royal  charter,   167;  charter  set  aside,   189;  restored,   190; 

population,  191  ;  new  towns,  197. 
ROBINSON,  JOHN,  LETTER  IN   REFERENCE  TO  THE   QUALITIES 

OF  HIS  PEOPLE,  8,  55;  blames  the  killing  of  the  Indians,  32; 

death  of,  46. 

ROXBURY   SETTLED,   91. 

ROYAL  COMMISSIONERS  COME  TO  BOSTON,  182;  ships  and  men ; 
present  the  demands  of  the  King,  183;  visit  to  Plymouth,  183; 
demands  agreed  to,  184;  visit  to  Rhode  Island,  184;  Boston; 
reply  to  their  demands,  184;  Court  of  Appeal,  185  ;  forbidden 
by  the  General  Court,  185 ;  visit  to  New  Hampshire,  185;  the 
Commissioners  recalled,  186. 

SABBATH,  THE,  4,  13,  51,  74. 

SAINT  JOHN  BAPTIST,  CHURCH  OF,  211 ;  memorial  window,  211. 

SALEM  SETTLED,  69,  70;   numbers  in  the  colony,  73;  church  in, 

76. 
SALTONSTALL,   SIR   RICHARD,  86;   character  of,   89;   settles  in. 

Watertown,  91,  116. 
SAMOSET,  16. 
SANDWICH  SETTLED,  49. 
SAWMILLS,  34,  151. 
SAY  AND  SELE,  LORD,  101. 
SCARCITY  OF  PROVISIONS,  33,  35,  36.. 
SCHLEGEL  QUOTED,  339. 
SCHOOLS,  VOLUNTARY  CONTRIBUTIONS,  114;  free  school  in  Rox- 

bury  and    Boston,  115;   penalty  on  towns  with  no  schools, 

115;  schools  in  1692,  192. 
SEAL  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  206. 
SEPARATISTS  ;   PURITANS  WERE  NOT  SEPARATISTS,  64,  78,  82, 

83,  84  (note),  95. 
SERVANTS,  99. 

SERVICE  OF  SONG,  SINGING  OF  THE  PILGRIMS  IN  UNISON,  48. 
SEVEN  YEARS,  END  OF,  41 ;  settlement  of  debts,  41. 
SHAKESPEARE,  JOHN,  316,  317;  coat  of  arms,  320. 
SHAKESPEARE,  WILLIAM,   his   period,   314;  his   contemporaries, 

314;  date  of  his  birth,  315;  Stratford  on  Avon,  315  ;  baptism, 


372  INDEX. 


316;  Grammar  School,  316;  his  marriage,  317;  his  children, 
318;  removal  to  London,  318;  connection  with  the  theatre, 
319;  an  actor;  writer  of  plays,  320;  purchases  the  Great 
House  at  Stratford,  320;  left  the  theatre,  died  in  Stratford, 
320. 

His  relation  to  the  Puritans,  321 ;  Stratford  a  Puritan  town, 
323  ;  his  eldest  daughter  a  Puritan,  324 ;  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  Puritans,  324;  uses  the  name,  325;  does  not  revile 
them,  325  ;  his  comprehensiveness,  326 ;  ignores  the  common 
people,  327;  does  injustice  to  Jack  Cade,  328  ;  ignores  Magna 
Charta  in  King  John,  329;  his  sympathies  with  the  nobility; 
his  associations  with  them,  330;  two  Englands  in  his  time, 
331;  contrast  with  Spenser  and  Milton,  331;  his  generous 
nature,  331;  regard  for  the  patrons  of  the  theatre,  332; 
quotes  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  333;  edited  his  poems,  333; 
lack  of  moral  purpose  in  his  dramas,  337 ;  a  Puritan  con- 
science, 338;  lofty  ideals,  339;  Shakespeare's  lack  of  sym- 
pathy with  common  men,  336 ;  with  struggles  for  the  rights  of 
the  people,  328  ;  with  the  middle  classes,  331  ;  his  patriotism, 
335;  his  estimate  of  his  calling,  336;  his  genius,  337;  his 
theory  of  the  purpose  of  the  drama,  339;  lack  of  religious 
element,  340;  his  references  to  clergymen,  341;  music  in  the 
plays,  342 ;  no  sacred  music,  343 ;  use  of  the  Bible,  343 ;  not 
an  Agnostic,  345;  reverence  for  our  Saviour,  345;  view  of 
immortality,  346;  references  to  suicide,  347;  lack  of  the  spir- 
itual, 348;  gloom  of  his  later  life,  351 ;  reasons  for  this,  352; 
disappointments  of  his  life,  352. 

SHAKESPEARE'S  PLAYS  QUOTED:  Twelfth  Night,  324;  Win- 
ter's Tale,  325 ;  Pericles,  325 ;  All 's  Well  that  Ends  Well, 
325;  Julius  Caesar,  327  ;  Coriolanus,  328 ;  Henry  Eighth,  332  ; 
Richard  Second,  335;  Sonnet  CXI.;  Merchant  of  Venice, 
342  ;  Love's  Labor 's  Lost,  343  ;  Richard  Third,  343  ;  Antony 
and  Cleopatra,  344;  Richard  Second,  344,  350;  Third  Part 
of  Henry  Sixth,  344;  First  Part  of  Henry  Fourth,  345;  Ham- 
let, 338,  346,  349»  353  ;  As  You  Like  It,  347;  Tempest,  347; 
Macbeth,  348;  King  Lear,  349;  Henry  Fifth,  349;  Sonnets 
CXXXVIIL,  CXLVI.,  349. 

SHEPARD  AT  NONANTUM,  223 ;  again  there,  232,  279. 

SHIP  FORTUNE,  25. 

SHIPS  ANNE  AND  LITTLE  JAMES,  36. 

SHIPS  FOR  MASSACHUSETTS,  72,  73. 

SICKNESS  AT  PLYMOUTH,  15;  care  of  the  sick,  15. 


INDEX.  373 


SIGNATURES  TO  THE  COMPACT,  11. 

SKELTON,  SAMUEL,  73,  76;  ordained,  80;  life  of,  77. 

SMITH,  HENRY,  FROM  WATERTOWN,  132. 

SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  NEW  ENG- 
LAND ;  its  charter,  236;  its  income,  use  of  its  funds,  237. 

SPENSER,  EDMUND,  date  of  birth,  311;  his  scholarship,  312;  his 
friends,  312;  his  Shepherd's  Calendar;  Faery  Queen,  312; 
Protestant  and  Puritan,  312;  contrast  with  Shakespeare,  331  ; 
religious  tone,  344. 

SPRING  IN  PLYMOUTH,  17,19. 

STANDISH,  CAPT.  MYLES;  lands  on  Clark's  Island,  13;  appointed 
captain,  17;  marches  into  the  Indian  country,  22;  advises 
Gov.  Bradford,  28 ;  at  Weymouth,  32 ;  his  library,  44,  309. 

STODDARD,  SOLOMON,  280,  283 ;  his  teaching,  290. 

STOUGHTON,  WILLIAM,  ELECTION  SERMON,  275. 

STRATFORD  ON  AVON,  315;  Trinity  Church,  Grammar  School, 
316;  stronghold  of  the  Puritans,  323. 

STYLES,  PRESIDENT,  ON  THE  REVIVAL,  301. 

SUCCESSORS  OF  EDWARDS,  303. 

SUFFERING  OF  THE  COLONISTS,  15,  79;  mortality  at  Salem,  90;  at 
Charlestown,  92 ;  some  return  to  England,  93. 

SUFFRAGE  AT  PLYMOUTH,  11,42,43. 

TAUNTON,  49,  53,  280. 

TAXATION  WITHOUT  REPRESENTATION,  105. 

TENNYSON  QUOTED,  x. 

TERMS  MADE  WITH  THE  CAPITALISTS,  6. 

THANKSGIVING,  THE  FIRST,  24;  Indians,  25. 

THATCHED  ROOFS,  15,  50. 

THEATRE  IN  THE  TIME  OF  SHAKESPEARE,  3^0 ,  his  estimate  of 

it,  336. 

THEOCRACY  WANING  IN  POWER,  158. 
THRIFT  OF  THE  PURITANS,  99. 
TISQUANTUM  AT  PLYMOUTH,  17;  teaches  the  planters,  19;  acts 

as  interpreter,  21 ;  rescued  from  captivity,  22. 
TOLERATION  OF  THE  PILGRIMS,  57;  toleration  in  Rhode  Island, 

167. 

TOWNS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND,  in;  no  model  in  England:  bounda- 
ries, 112;  powers  of  towns,  113;  extension  in  new  States; 
germ  of  the  Republic,  113. 

TOWNS,  INDIAN;  names,  245  (note). 

TRADE  WITH  THE  INDIANS,  23. 


3  74  INDEX. 


TRAININGS  ON  SATURDAYS,  108. 

TRANSFER  OF  THE  CHARTER^  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  85;  a  self- 
governing  colony,  86;^  Company  agrees  to  transfer  its  charter, 
87 ;  reasons  why  the  transfer  was  valid,  86. 

UNDERBILL,  CAPT.  JOHN,  143. 

UNDERTAKERS,  THE  ;  method  of  paying  debts,  42. 

UNITARIANISM  AND  THE  OLD  ARMINIANISM,  303;  opposition  to 

the  Great  Awakening,  304. 

UNITED  STATES,  POPULATION  FROM  PURITANS,  145. 
UNIVERSITY  MEN,  LARGE  NUMBERS  OF  IN  MASSACHUSETTS,  99. 

VANE,  HENRY,  GOVERNOR,  114;  favors  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  139; 
sends  Endicott  against  the  Pequots,  142. 

VATTEL  ON  THE  JUSTICE  OF  DEALINGS  WITH  THE  INDIANS,  107. 

VERMONT,  EARLY  SETTLEMENTS  IN  ;  hindered  by  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  198;  settlers  came  from  Connecticut  and  Massa- 
chusetts, 199. 

VIRGINIA,  REQUIRED  ATTENDANCE  UPON  PUBLIC  WORSHIP,  150. 

WABAN,  224 ;  began  to  pray  and  teach,  230. 

WALKER,  DR.  G.  L.,  QUOTED,  277. 

WALLEY,  THOMAS,  HIS  ELECTION  SERMON,  275. 

WAMPAS,  230. 

WAR,  KING  PHILIP'S,  261  ;  results  of  the  war,  262 ;  towns  de- 
stroyed ;  distrust  of  the  Indians,  263 ;  reasons  for  this  distrust, 
263;  removal  of  Indians  to  Deer  Island,  264;  sufferings 
there,  265 ;  release  at  the  end  of  the  war,  265  ;  the  broken 
spirit  of  the  Indians,  265. 

WARD,  NATHANIEL,  149. 

WATERTOWN  SETTLED,  91 ;  church  formed,  97. 

WESTMINSTER  CONFESSION,  ACCEPTED  BY  THE  CAMBRIDGE 
SYNOD,  160. 

WESTON,  THOMAS,  31. 

WEYMOUTH,  32. 

WHEELWRIGHT,  A  FOLLOWER  OF  MRS.  HUTCHINSON,  138; 
settles  at  Exeter,  140. 

WHITE,  REV.  JOHN,  68;  forms  the  Dorchester  Adventurers,  68, 94. 

WHITE,  SUSANNA,  MARRIED,  21. 

WHITE,  RICHARD  GRANT,  QUOTED,  328,  334,  337. 

WHITEFIELD  IN  AMERICA,  298;  age  at  that  time,  299;  testimony 
of  one  who  heard  him,  299;  preaches  in  Newport,  Bristol, 


INDEX.  375 


Boston,  299;  Northampton,  300 ;  results  of  his  preaching;  his 
indiscretions,  300. 

WHITMAN,  SAMUEL,  ELECTION  SERMON,  275. 

WIDFORD,  ENGLAND,  210. 

WILDE,  THOMAS,  109. 

WILLARD,  PRESIDENT,  QUOTED,  279. 

WILLIAM  AND  MARY,  190 ;  Provincial  charter  for  Massachusetts, 
190. 

WILLIAMS,  ROGER,  ARRIVAL  IN  BOSTON,  126;  his  education  and 
early  life,  126  ;  a  rigid  Separatist ;  opposition  to  Sunday  laws, 
127;  preaches  in  Salem,  in  Plymouth,  again  in  Salem,  127; 
his  banishment,  128;  plants  Providence,  128;  his  banishment 
a  mistake,  129;  refuses  to  persecute  the  Quakers,  174. 

WILSON,  JOHN,  91;  salary  of,  94;  pastor,  96;  returns  to  the 
colony,  109 ;  at  Nonaiitum,  223. 

WINDSOR  SETTLED  BY  THE  PILGRIMS,  132;  purchased  by  the 
Puritan  colonists,  132. 

WINSLOW,  Gov.  EDWARD,  MARRIES  SUSANNA  WHITE,  21 ;  gives 
an  account  of  the  colony,  24;  visits  Massasoit,  30,  31 ;  one  of 
the  capitalists,  41  ;  sent  to  England  by  Massachusetts,  121, 
164;  agent  of  the  colonies  in  England,  235 ;  letter  from  Eliot, 
238. 

WINSLOW,  JOHN,  ARRIVES,  26. 

WINTHROP,  Gov.  JOHN,  86 ;  elected  Governor,  87  ;  history  of,  88  ; 
sails,  89  ;  arrives  in  Salem,  sends  for  provisions,  92  ;  re-elected 
Governor,  103;  his  library,  309. 

WINTHROP,  JOHN,  JR.,  his  library,  310. 

WITCHCRAFT  A  COMMON  SUPERSTITION,  176;  Sir  Matthew  Hale, 
Governor  Winthrop,  trials  for  witchcraft  in  England ;  Con- 
necticut; Massachusetts,  176;  Salem  witchcraft,  177;  epi- 
demic of  folly  and  cruelty,  177;  causes;  numbers  in  jail, 
178;  trial  by  jury;  twenty  executed,  178. 

WORD  OF  GOD  TO  BE  THE  LAW  IN  ABSENCE  OF  OTHER  LAWS 
IN  CONNECTICUT,  134;  in  Quinnipiac,  136;  rules  for  courts, 
150. 

WORDSWORTH'S  REGARD  FOR  THE  BIBLE,  344. 

WORSHIP,  SERVICES  OF  PUBLIC;  PLYMOUTH,  48.  Puritan 
churches,  150. 

YARMOUTH,  49,  53 ;  Eliot  at,  229. 


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